yn 

DER 


No. 


AN  X-RAY  PHOTOGRAPH  OF  THE  HAND  (SHOWING  TWO 
NEEDLES  IMBEDDED  IN  THE  FLESH) 


GRADED   LESSONS  ;,,°;; 


IN 


HYGIENE 


BY 

WILLIAM   0.  KROHN,  PH.D.  (YALE) 

AUTHOR  OP 
PRACTICAL  LESSONS  IN  PSYCHOLOGY,"   AND   EDITOR  OF   "THE  CHILD-STUDY  MONTHLY' 


NEW    YORK 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 
1903 


COPYRIGHT,  1900 
BY   WILLIAM   O.   KROHN 

COPYRIGHT,  1903 
BY   D.   APPLETON   AND   COMPANY 

EDUCATION  DEF?, 


PEEFACE. 

The  keynote  of  this  book  is  health.  There  has  been  no 
attempt  to  prepare  an  extended  treatise  on  anatomy  and  physi- 
ology. It  has  been  the  purpose  of  the  author  to  present  in 
simple  language  to  the  children  in  the  intermediate  grades  a 
knowledge  of  the  conditions  which  tend  to  preserve  and 
strengthen  the  body. 

While  the  facts  of  anatomy  and  physiology  in  this  book 
have  been  made  in  a  sense  secondary  to  the  main  theme — 
hygiene — yet  they  embrace  the  results  of  the  latest  investiga- 
tions in  these  departments  of  research,  and  are  ample  for  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  central  subject.  The  lessons  are 
designed  throughout  to  come  within  the  comprehension  of  young 
pupils,  as  well  as  to  meet  the  wants  of  those  in  the  more 
advanced  classes,  in  emphasizing  the  common  laws  of  health. 
This  steady  progression  from  the  simple  to  the  more  difficult 
is  made  by  easy,  natural,  well-gradated  steps. 

The  author  regards  it  not  only  the  most  logical  arrange- 
ment, but  also  in  harmony  with  the  best  pedagogy,  to  embrace 
the  main  discussion  of  the  effects  of  alcohol  and  tobacco  in 
separate  chapters.  Connected  discussion  is  better  than  scat- 
tered fragments. 

5 

541779 


6  PREFACE. 

In  the  teacher's  edition  of  this  book,  more  specific  directions 
are  to  be  found  for  presenting  the  subject-matter  of  these  les- 
sons. This  supplement  for  teachers  also  includes  suggested 
exercises  for  use  in  gymnastic  drill,  as  well  as  a  series  of  tests 
for  hearing,  vision,  memory,  and  the  methods  of  making  phys- 
ical measurements.  There  is  also  contained  in  the  teachers' 
edition  a  more  extended  discussion  of  the  effects  of  narcotics 
and  alcohol  upon  the  human  system,  and  the  methods  of 
teaching  the  same,  * 

WILLIAM  0.  KROHN. 

Chicago,  May  1,  1900. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  OUR  FOOD            •                         ...  9 

II.  HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS       -  22 

III.  OUR  DRINK          -            -            -            -  46 

IV.  TEMPERANCE               ....  54 
V.  THE  SKIN  AND  THE  KIDNEYS    -            -  64 

VI.  THE  BONES    -            -            •            •            -^  80 

VII.  THE  MUSCLES       •'          -                        -  94 

VIII.  THE  BLOOD  AND  ITS  CIRCULATION              j-  107 

IX.  BREATHING  AND  THE  LUNGS      -            -  -     125 

X.  THE  NERVES  AND  THE  BRAIN          -            -  146 

XL  THE  EYES  AND  THEIR  CARE      -  -     175 

XII.  THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  EAR                           -  186 

XIII.  THE  TEETH  AND  THEIR  CARE    -            -  -  192 

XIV.  DISEASE  GERMS         -            -            -            -  196 
XV.  SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE         -  -     205 

XVI.  PHYSICAL  EXERCISE                -                         -  228 

XVII.  FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED       ...  242 

XVIII.  SELECTED  READINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY    -  251 


"For  what  will  it  profit  a  child  if  he   gain   the   whole 
world  of  knowledge  and  lose  his  own  health  f  " 

G.  STANLEY  HALL. 


CHAPTER  I. 
OUK  FOOD. 

Why  We  Eat. — Does  it  ever  seem  strange  to  you  that 
these  bodies  of  ours  do  not  appear  to  wear  out,  though  we  are 
constantly  using  them  ?  We  know  that  our  clothes  wear  out, 
no  matter  how  careful  of  them  we  may  be.  A  wagon  or  piece 
of  machinery  tends  to  wear  out  with  each  movement  it  makes. 
You  would  not  expect  your  pencil,  pocket-knife,  bicycle,  or 
skates  to  keep  fresh  and  new  after  long  and  frequent  use.  Our 
bodies  are  constantly  wearing  out.  Every  movement  of  our 
bodies,  however  slight,  causes  at  least  a  small  amount  of  wear. 
Why,  then,  do  not  our  bodies  waste  away  ?  Because  they  are 
being  continually  repaired.  Every  little  particle  of  worn-out 
matter  is  being  replaced  by  a  new  one.  The  food  we  eat 
is  being  changed  into  the  parts  of  the  body  that  are  wearing 
out. 

You  are  growing  very  fast.  But  a  few  years  ago  you  were 
much  smaller  than  you  now  are.  Next  year  you  expect  to  be 
even  larger  and  stronger.  What  is  it  that  makes  you  grow  ? 
Is  it  the  air  that  you  breathe  ?  No,  not  that  alone.  Air  is 
necessary  to  life ;  but  you  would  soon  starve  if  you  had  noth- 
ing but  air  upon  which  to  live.  Water  is  necessary  to  life,  and 
yet  none  of  us  could  live  on  water  alone.  You  have  noticed 
the  little  tree  in  the  orchard  and  the  plant  in  the  garden,  how 

9 


10  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

:  fca£idly  ^neyigrow1.  If  you  should  stand  the  plant  or  tree  in 
;  tke.-  jniddte  of  ypuf'.  schoolroom,  on  the  clean,  hard  floor,  and 
:gfve*  it*  sunKgtatj  "•  aif ,  and  water;*  without  any  soil,  would  it 
grow  ?  No ;  it  would  not  even  live.  The  roots,  by  means  of 
which  our  little  tree,  when  out  of  doors,  was  fastened  to  the 
soil,  could  not  make  their  way  into  the  hard  floor. 

If  the  tree  is  to  live  and  grow,  its  roots  must  go  down  into 
the  soil  and  find  something  for  the  tree  just  as  necessary  to  its 
life,  health,  and  growth,  as  the  air,  sunshine,  and  water.  The 
roots,  even  the  smallest  of  them,  work  down  into  the  earth  and 
find  food  for  the  tree,  and  it  is  this  food  which  the  roots  find 
that  makes  plants  and  trees  grow.  The  richer  the  soil — that  is, 
the  better  the  food — the  faster  they  grow.  In  one  garden  we 
find  the  plants  looking  pale  and  sickly,  growing  scarcely  at  all, 
while  in  another  garden  the  plants  look  fresh  and  thrifty  and 
are  growing  rapidly.  What  causes  the  difference?  You  are 
quick  to  answer  that  in  one  garden  the  soil  is  richer,  containing 
more  food  for  the  plants,  and  the  gardener  loosens  the  soil  that 
the  roots  may  have  a  chance  to  push  their  way  farther  and 
farther  into  the  earth  to  get  more  food.  The  wise  gardener 
also  pulls  up  the  weeds  that  would  otherwise  grow  around  the 
plants,  so  that  these  weeds  may  not  use  up  the  food  in  the  soil 
that  the  plants  need  for  their  health  and  growth. 

Why  do  you  eat  ?  Because  the  food  keeps  your  bodies  in 
repair  so  that  they  will  not  wear  out,  and  also  because  it  makes 
you  grow. 

Have  you  ever  thought  how  much  one  eats  in  a  lifetime  ? 
It  is  a  nice  problem  in  arithmetic  to  figure  this  out.  Nearly 
every  boy  and  girl  in  your  school  eats  at  least  two  pounds  of 


OUR   FOOD.  11 

food  in  a  day.  In  a  year,  then,  each  of  you  will  eat  two  times 
365  or  730  pounds  of  food.  This  is  many  times  your  own 
weight.  By  the  time  you  have  become  sixty  years  old,  how 
much  will  you  have  eaten  ? 

What  to  Eat. — Our  bodies  are  repaired  and  made  to  grow  by 
what  we  eat.  If  you  eat  inferior  food  your  bodies  will  be  made 
of  poor  material,  and  will  not  grow  as  fast  as  they  should,  or  do 
their  work  well.  If  you  eat  poor,  unhealthful  food,  your  body 
will  have  to  be  repaired  often ;  that  is,  you  will  have  to  call  the 
doctor  to  give  you  some  medicine  to  undo  the  harm  caused  by 
the  improper  food,  whatever  it  may  have  been.  You  see  how 
important  it  is  that  we  know  something  about  our  foods.  All 
of  us  should  know  what  foods  are  good  for  us,  and  what  will  do 
us  harm.  What  foods  will  promote  health  and  growth,  and 
what  will  cause  disease  and  retard  growth,  is  certainly  very 
important  knowledge. 

Do  you  think  the  dark  soil  in  the  garden  or  flower-bed 
looks  anything  like  the  bright-eyed,  laughing  pansy  ?  Does  the 
black  loam  resemble  the  rich  green  of  the  waving  branches  of 
the  fern  ?  As  we  eat  the  ripe  apple,  juicy  plum,  luscious  grape, 
or  sweet  pear,  do  we  taste  anything  like  the  dark,  gritty,  sandy 
soil  which  made  it  possible  for  them  to  exist  ?  To  all  of  these 
questions  you  answer,  No.  And  yet  in  the  same  way  the  roots 
of  the  pansy,  the  fern,  and  the  fruit  tree  take  their  food  from 
the  soil,  and  it  is  then  changed  so  that  leaves  are  made  to  grow, 
flowers  to  bloom,  and  fruits  to  appear. 

Is  it  not  equally  strange  to  think  that  the  bread,  potatoes, 
meat,  and  eggs  you  eat,  as  well  as  the  milk  and  the  water  you 
drink — in  fact,  every  bit  of  good  food  of  which  you  partake — is 


12  GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

taken  up  by  the  organs  of  the  body  and  changed  into  bone, 
nerve,  and  muscle  ?  And  yet,  if  we  can  only  get  the  food  into 
the  blood,  as  the  root  gets  the  food  -from  the  earth  into  the  sap 
of  the  plant,  each  part  of  the  body  will  pick  out  just  what  it 
needs  to  make  it  strong.  The  bones  will  take  up  from  the 
blood  just  those  little  particles  they  need  for  their  growth  and 
repair,  and  likewise,  the  muscles  and  nerves  will  do  the  same. 
Your  own  body  does  not  look  like  the  food  you  eat  any  more 
than  the  plant  looks  like  the  soil  upon  which  it  feeds.  Our 
food  becomes  changed  in  some  way  into  all  the  different  parts 
of  the  body — skin,  hair,  bone,  muscle,  brain,  *and  nerve. 

Since  food  thus  becomes  changed  into  the  different  parts 
and  organs  of  which  the  body  is  composed,  is  it  not  very  impor- 
tant that  we  be  careful  to  select  the  foods  that  are  best  suited 
to  the  repair  and  growth  of  our  bodies?  But  before  we  con- 
sider this  further,  let  us  follow  the  food  we  eat  as  it  makes  its 
journey  through  the  body.  The  preparation  of  the  food  so  that 
it  may  be  used  in  nourishing  the  body  is  digestion.  The  object 
of  digestion  is  to  separate  the  food  from  its  hard  and  useless 
parts,  and  then  to  soften  and  dissolve  it  so  that  it  becomes 
liquid,  and  can  flow  with  the  blood  to  the  various  parts  of  the 
body  requiring  food. 

How  We  Digest. — The  first  step  in  digestion  is  the  proper 
cooking  of  the  food  we  eat.  Our  digestion,  then,  really  begins 
outside  of  the  body.  Cooking  softens  the  food  so  that  it  can 
be  chewed  easily.  You  would  find  it  difficult  to  chew  raw  rice 
grains.  Cooking  softens  the  hard  grains  of  rice,  wheat,  or  oats, 
and  it  also  makes  most  of  the  foods  taste  better.  A  raw  potato 
does  not  taste  very  good,  but  what  boy  or  girl  does  not  enjoy 


OUR  FOOD. 


13 


eating  nicely  cooked  potatoes  at  least  once  a  day?  Again, 
cooking  destroys  many  poisons  in  food.  We  will  learn  more 
about  that  in  the  chapter  on  "  Disease  Germs." 

Mouth  Digestion — After  the  food  is  properly  cooked,  the 
next  step  in  digestion  is  to  take  it  into  the  mouth,  where  the 
digestion  is  continued 
by  chewing  and  grind- 
ing the  food  with  the 
teeth,  and  pushing  it 
about  the  mouth  with 
the  tongue.  We  move 
it  from  one  side  of  the 
mouth  to  the  other 
until  it  is  in  little,  fine 
particles.  While  we 
ara  chewing  our  food 
well,  it  is  mixed  with 
a  watery  fluid,  called 
saliva.  There  are 
three  glands  on  each 
side  of  the  mouth  that 


FIGURE  1.— The  Salivary  Glands. 


are  busy  making  and 
secreting    this   saliva. 
You  will  see  their  lo- 
cation in  the  picture.     The  saliva  which  the  glands  produce  is 
sent  into   the  mouth  by  means  of  little  tubes  called  ducts. 
When  we  eat,  taste,  or  even  look  at  some  foods  we  like,  these 
glands  make  so  much  saliva  that  we  sometimes  say  the  mouth 
waters.      You  should  remember  to  eat  slowly,  in  order  to  give 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


your  teeth  a  chance  to  grind  up  the  food,  and  also  give  it  time 
to  become  well  mixed  with  the  saliva  of  the  mouth,  which 
helps  so  much  in  preparing  the  fooH  for  the  further  steps  of 
digestion.  After  being  thoroughly  chewed,  the  food  is  swal- 
lowed. 

Stomach  Digestion — In  the  back  part  of  the  mouth,  at  the 
throat,  begins  a  long,  narrow  tube,  which  passes  down  to  the 

stomach.  This  tube, 
or  food-pipe,  is  about 
nine  inches  long.  It 
is  called  the  esopha- 
gus. You  all  know 
where  the  pit  of  your 
stomach  lies.  This  is 
the  stomach's  center. 
The  stomach  is  simply 
an  enlargement  of  the 
digestive  tube.  It  is 
like  a  large  bag  with 
a  coat  of  loosely  woven 

muscles,  and  it  has  a  queer  little  gate-keeper  or  valve  (pylorus) 
at  the  lower  end  that  will  not  open  and  permit  the  food  to 
pass  out  until  it  is  sufficiently  digested  and  ready  for  the 
bowels  or  intestines.  As  soon  as  the  food  gets  into  the 
stomach,  the  muscular  coat  begins  to  contract,  first  length- 
wise and  then  crosswise.  It  thus  keeps  the  food  churning 
to  and  fro,  and  mixes  it  with  a  fluid  or  juice  more  powerful 
than  the  saliva  of  the  mouth.  This  fluid  in  the  stomach,  so 
necessary  to  digestion,  is  called  the  gastric  juice.  It  is  formed 


FIGURE  2. — The  Stomach. 


OUR  FOOD.  15 

in  the  many  pocket-like  glands  in  the  lining  of  the  inner  wall 
of  the  stomach.  The  stomach  churns  away  from  two  to  four 
hours  after  every  meal,  according  to  the  kind  of  food  eaten, 
the  way  in  which  it  has  been  cooked,  and  the  health  of  the 
person  eating  it.  After  each  meal  the  stomach  should  be 
allowed  to  rest  a  while  before  the  next.  This  is  why  girls 
and  boys  should,  as  a  rule,  eat  nothing  between  meals.  If  you 
do,  the  stomach  becomes  too  tired  to  do  its  work  well  when 
meal  time  comes  again,  and  so  you  are  not  hungry.  Irregular 
habits  of  eating,  as  well  as  improper,  unwholesome  food,  will 
cause  disorders  of  the  stomach,  such  as  dyspepsia.  Again,  the 
gastric  juice  will  not  digest  the  foods  in  the  proper  length  of 
time  if  the  pieces  are  too  large  and  not  properly  chewed  or 
masticated  when  swallowed.  This  is  another  reason  for  eating 
slowly.  It  should  also  be  remembered  that  the  juices  so  neces- 
sary to  digestion  are  secreted  more  rapidly  and  do  their  work 
better  if  we  are  in  a  cheerful  mood.  If  we  come  to  the  table 
cross  and  peevish,  the  food  we  eat  will  not  do  us  as  much  good 
and  will  not  be  so  well  digested  as  it  would  be  if  we  were 
cheerful  and  happy.  Cheer  is  necessary  to  good  digestion. 

The  blood  vessels  of  the  stomach  dissolve  and  take  up 
some  of  the  food  and  carry  it  away,  but  most  of  the  pulpy 
mass,  after  being  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  gastric  juice, 
passes  through  the  little  gateway,  or  pylorus,  to  the  intestines, 
to  be  mixed  with  still  another  juice. 

Digestion  in  the  Intestines. — At  the  lower  end  of  the  stom- 
ach the  food  canal  becomes  narrow  again.  This  portion  of  the 
digestive  canal  below  the  stomach  is  called  the  intestines  or 
bowels.  The  intestinal  tube  is  about  twenty-five  feet  long  in 


16 


GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


the  grown  person.  This  long  portion  of  the  food  canal  is  coiled 
up  and  closely  packed  away  in  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen, 
below  the  stomach,  so  as  to  take  the  smallest  possible  amount 
of  room.  The  last  few  feet  of  the  intestinal  tube  is  larger  than 
the  rest,  and  is  called  the  colon.  The  portion  directly  attached 
to  the  stomach  is  longer,  but  at  the  same  -time  much  smaller, 
and  is  called  the  small  intestine.  It  is  about  twenty  feet  long 

and  one  inch  in  diameter.  The 
small  intestine  opens  into  the 
large  intestine  or  colon,  which 
is  about  two  inches  in  diameter, 
and  in  the  adult  about  five  feet 
in  length.  The  entire  intestinal 
canal,  then,  consists  of  a  tube  of 
muscular  tissue  lined  with  a 
mucous  membrane.  The  walls 
of  the  intestines  are  from  one- 
sixteenth  to  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  in  thickness.  On  their 
inner  surface,  imbedded  in  the  mucous  membrane,  are  innu- 
merable small  tube-like  glands  that  are  very  important.  They 
pour  out  a  liquid  called  the  intestinal  juice,  which  does  its 
part  in  the  digestion  of  food.  Along  the  lower  side  of  the 
stomach  there  is  a  large  gland  called  the  pancreas  or  sweet- 
bread. Each  day  this  pours  into  the  intestines  about  one 
quart  of  a  liquid  called  the  pancreatic  juice.  This  juice  is  even 
more  important  than  the  saliva,  gastric  juice,  or  intestinal  juice, 
for  it  does  most  of  the  work  of  digesting  our  food.  It  is  so 
powerful  that  it  breaks  up  the  fats  in  our  food,  such  as  butter 


FIGURE  3.— Showing  the  Three  Coats 
of  the  Stomach,  (g)  Inner  surface, 

,  mucous  membrane,  (mi)  Circular 
layer  of  muscular  fibers,  (me)  Outer 
layer  of  longitudinal  muscular  fibers. 
(p)  Ridge  of  pyloric  ring. 


OUR   FOOD. 


17 


and  the  fatty  portions  of  meats,  into  very. small  particles  so  that 
they  will  mix  with  water.  The  pancreatic  juice  also  changes 
the  starch  in  our  foods,  as  the  starch  of  potatoes,  bread,  and 
uncooked  fruits,  into  the  sugar  the  body  so  much  needs. 

The  liver,  which  is  located  above  the  stomach,  close  Under 
the  ribs  and  on  the  right  side  of  the  body,  is  a  large  chocolate- 
colored  organ,  and  has  for  its  chief  business  the  making  of  a 
fluid  called 
Ule.  This  fluid 
is  also  very 
necessary  for 
the  digestion 
of  the  food  in 
the  intestines. 
Fresh  human 
bile  is  a  liquid 
of  a  brownish 
gold  color.  It 
is  carried  to 
the  intestines 
through  a  lit- 
tle tube  or  duct,  called  the  gall-duct.  This  enters  the  intes- 
tines just  a  few  inches  below  the  stomach.  If  the  liver  makes 
bile  faster  than  it  is  needed  by  the  intestines,  it  is  stored 
up  in  a  little  pear-shaped  sac,  known  as  the  gall-bladder.  This 
hangs  from  the  under  side  of  the  liver.  The  saying,  "  bitter  as 
gall,"  arises  from  the  extremely  bitter  taste  of  the  bile  in  the 
gall-bladder.  Sometimes  in  cleaning  a  chicken  or  other  fowl 
in  preparation  for  cooking,  by  drawing  out  the  liver,  intestines, 


FIGURE  4.— THE  LIVER— Its  Under  Surface. 


18  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

heart,  and  other  organs,  the  gall-bladder  becomes  broken,  and 
the  bile  it  contains  comes  in  contact  with  the  meaty  portions 
of  the  fowl  to  be  eaten.  These,,  are  rendered,  because  of  the 
intense  bitterness,  entirely  unfit  for  food. 

While  the  bile  is  very  important,  it  of  itself  does  very  lit- 
tle of  the  work  of  digestion,  but  its  presence  makes  the  pancre- 
atic juice  more  powerful.  Mixed  with  bile,  the  pancreatic  juice 
is  able  to  do  double  the  work  of  digestion  that  it  could  do 
alone.  Bile  is  really  a  waste  substance  thrown  off  by  the 
liver,  but  on  its  way  out  of  the  body  it  helps  greatly  in  build- 
ing up  the  body.  The  bile  and  pancreatic  juice  enter  the  small 
intestine  at  nearly  the  same  place.  The  liver  is  really  a  won- 
derful organ.  Besides  making  bile,  it  aids  in  various  other 
ways  in  the  digestion  of  food.  It  also  helps  to  keep  the  blood 
pure  by  removing  from  it  harmful  substances  that  are  formed 
within  the  body.  The  liver  also  acts  as  a  wide-awake  sentinel, 
in  that  it  destroys  many  of  the  disease  germs:  or  microbes,  that 
find  their  way  into  the  mouth  and  stomach*  along  with  our 
food.  If  in  healthy  condition,  the  liver  will  kill  germs  that 
might  otherwise  cause  such  diseases  as  typhoid  fever,  malaria, 
or  la  grippe.  If  any  of  these  little  germs,  or  any  other  poisons, 
such  as  the  poisons  of  poorly  canned  meats  or  vegetables,  are 
swallowed  along  with  the  food,  they  are  also  taken  up  with  the 
food,  and  carried  by  means  of  the  blood  tubes  into  the  liver. 
The  liver  works  hard  to  keep  these  poisons  from  going  any 
farther  along  the  blood  tubes  to  other  portions  of  the  body,  and 
thus  guards  the  rest  of  the  body  from  the  effects  of  the  bad 
food.  If  the  liver  gets  out  of  order  it  sends  but  little  bile, 
instead  of  the  quart  a  day  it  should  send  into  the  intestines. 


OUR   FOOD. 


19 


Poisons  are  then  permitted  to  pass  by  unattacked,  and  the  pan- 
creatic juice  cannot  do  the  full  work  of  digestion  allotted  to  it. 
As  a  result  of  a  disordered  liver  we  have  a  rather  common 
form  of  sickness  known  as  biliousness. 

Movements  of  the  Intestines — As  the  mouth  by  its  move- 
ments in  chewing  the  food  fine,  and  the  stomach  by  means  of 
its  movements  in  churning  the  food  about,  by  rocking  it  to  and 
fro,  from  side  to  side  and 
end  to  end,  so  in  a  simi- 
lar way  the  small  intes- 
tine makes  certain  move- 
ments that  mix  the  food 
with  the  bile,  intestinal, 
and  pancreatic  juices,  and 
forces  it  farther  along  the 
digestive  tube  or  food 
canal.  As  the  food  goes 
farther  and  farther  along 
the  small  intestine,  it 
becomes  more  and  more  • 

liquid,  until,  at  the  end,  only  indigestible  portions  remain, 
such  as  unripe  fruit,  seeds,  peelings,  large  pieces  of  food  that 
were  not  chewed  fine  enough,  and  husks  of  grains,  like  the 
covering  of  the  separate  grains  of  sweet  corn,  peas,  beans,  and 
the  coarser  forms  of  cracked  wheat  or  oatmeal.  These  waste 
portions  remain  solid  because  the  juices  cannot  act  on  them  and 
digest  them.  At  this  stage  of  digestion  in  the  small  intestine, 
the  food  looks  somewhat  like  milk  with  the  undigested  parti- 
cles mentioned  above  floating  in  it.  This  food  is  still  in  reality 


FIGURE  5.— Cross  section  of  Small  Intestine, 
showing  the  three  layers. 


20 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


outside  of  the  body  almost  as  much  as  if  it  were  still  untouched 
on  your  plate  on  the  dinner-table.  It  must  pass  through  the 
walls  of  the  intestine  and  get  into  the  blood,  and  then  be  carried 

to  the  various  parts  of  the  body, 
before  it  really  becomes  food  for  the 
bones,  nerves,  and  muscles. 

Absorption  of  Food. —  As  the 
food  is  passed  slowly  along  the 
small  intestine,  its  liquid  parts  soak 
through  into  the  blood  tubes,  and 
by  the  time  it  reaches  the  large 
bowel,  or  colon,  most  of  the  water 
and  all  of  the  useful  particles  have 
been  removed  and  carried  away  by 
the  blood,  and  only  the  waste  mat- 
ter, such  as  seeds,  hard  portions  of 
unripe  fruits,  peelings,  husks,  and 
the  like,  mentioned  above,  remain 
behind.  This  is  driven  on  and  out 
of  the  body.  These  waste  portions, 
that  naturally  find  their  way  into 
the  large  bowel,  should  be  expelled 
at  least  once  a  day,  in  order  to  in- 
sure good  health.  If  this  is  done 
regularly  at  a  certain  time,  for  exam- 
ple, at  about  the  same  hour  each  morning,  the  bowels  form  the 
habit  of  always  acting  at  this  time.  If  this  waste  matter  is 
not  given  off,  we  have  sick-headache,  a  feeling  of  heaviness, 
and  may  become  ill,  for  these  waste  substances  are  sure  to 
poison  the  body  if  retained. 


Small     / 
Intestine 


FIGURE  6.— Showing  the  Digestive 
Tube,  or  Food  Canal. 


OUR  FOOD.  21 

You  see,  then,  that  there  are  at  least  five  important  organs 
of  digestion.  The  mouth,  the  stomach,  the  intestines,  the  pan- 
creas, and  the  liver.  Food  is  softened  and  prepared  for  diges- 
tion by  these  five  organs  by  first  being  properly  cooked. 
Cooking  is  the  first  step  in  digestion.  Will  you  also  please 
remember  that  there  are  five  digestive  fluids:  saliva,  gastric 
juice,  pancreatic  juice,  bile,  and  intestinal  juice? 


KEVIEW  QUESTIONS. 

1.  Why  do  we  eat? 

2.  Why  should  we  eat  several  kinds  of  food? 

3.  What  is  digestion? 

4.  Why  should  our  food  be  properly  cooked? 

5.  What  important  fluid  in  the  mouth  aids  digestion? 

6.  Why  should  we  eat  slowly? 

7.  What  is  the  stomach  like? 

8.  How  long  does  it  churn  the  food? 

9.  What  important  juice  in  the  stomach  is  necessary  to 
digestion? 

10.  Why  should  we  eat  regularly,  and  not  between  meals? 

11.  What  part  of  the  work  of  digestion  is  done  by  the  intes- 
tines? 

12.  What  help  is  given  by  the  liver? 

13.  What  juices  combine  to  digest  the  food  in  the  intestines? 

14.  How  is  the  food  carried  through  the  body  to  its  different 
parts,  after  it  is  digested? 


CHAPTER  II. 
HEALTHFUL   AND   UNHEALTHFUL   FOODS. 

We  have  learned  that  digestion  is  the  process  by  means  of 
which  the  food  we  take  into  the  mouth  is  changed  into  liquid 
form,  or  a  state  of  solution,  suitable  for  being  absorbed  into  the 
blood.  This  change  may  be  rapid  or  slow,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  food-stuffs  the  digestive  juices  are  called  upon  to 
dissolve.  We  all  know  that  it  takes  much  longer  to  digest  a 
piece  of  beefsteak  than  it  does  a  cup  of  beef  tea.  We  know 
that  milk  is  more  readily  digested  than  roast  pork  or  boiled 
cabbage.  When  a  person  is  not  very  well,  when  we  wish  to 
save  labor  for  the  digestive  organs  and  make  digestion  as  easy 
as  possible,  the  person  is  placed  upon  a  "liquid  diet."  How 
does  this  help  to  save  work  for  the  digestive  organs  and  diges- 
tive juices,  when  they  are  not  in  good,  healthy  condition? 

You  have  observed  that  some  animals  seern  to  be  eating  all 
the  time.  The  hen  appears  to  be  continually  picking  up  seeds 
of  weeds  and  grasses,  grains  of  wheat  or  corn,  and  countless 
little  bugs,  as  she  goes  about  the  yard.  Other  animals  eat  large 
quantities  of  food  at  one  time,  and  then  lie  quiet  and  sleep  for 
days.  I  saw  a  very  large  snake — a  boa  constrictor — at  one  of 
the  parks  the  other  day,  that  eats  only  once  in  two  or  three 
months ;  but  when  he  eats  it  takes  a  very  large  meal  to  satisfy 
him — several  chickens,  a  number  of  rabbits,  and  a  small  army 

22 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     23 

of  rats  and  mice.  Other  animals,  such  as  the  dog,  do  not 
chew  their  food  at  all.  They  tear  it  apart  so  that  the  pieces 
can  just  be  gotten  into  the  mouth  and  swallowed,  and  that 
is  all.  The  stomach  and  intestines  of  a  dog  have  thicker  and 
tougher  walls,  and  the  digestive  juices  have  more  power. 
That  is  the  reason  that  dogs  can  even  digest  bones  which  they 
frequently  swallow.  You  have  noticed  that  the  cow  will  chew 
her  food  only  a  little  at  first.  Notice  how  fast  she  eats  the 
grass  in  the  pasture  and  see  how  quickly  she  swallows  it. 
Then  while  she  is  resting  she  brings  the  food  back  to  her  mouth 
again,  and  chews  it  finer.  Deer  also  do  the  same.  It  is 
called  "chewing  their  cud."  Once  my  little  girl,  when  about 
three  years  old,  saw  some  deer  in  one  of  the  city  parks  chewing 
their  cud;  she  turned  to  me  and  said,  "What  do  deer  chew  gum 
for,  papa?"  Cattle  have  four  stomachs,  one  of  which  is  called 
the  paunch  and  is  very  large.  In  the  full-grown  ox  it  will  hold 
two  bushels.  The  fourth  stomach  is  nearly  like  man's  in  size 
and  shape,  and  is  really  the  true  stomach,  for  it  is  the  one  in 
which  most  of  the  stomach  digestion  takes  place.  The  other 
three  are  little  more  than  storehouses  and  passageways  for  the 
food. 

Even  some  of  the  small  insects  have  a  stomach  and  intestines 
which  secrete  digestive  juices.  In  most  worms  the  digestive 
tube  passes  straight  through  the  body.  Oysters  and  clams  also 
possess  a  stomach  and  coiled-up  intestines.  The  soft,  dark- 
colored  substance  at  the  back  part  of  an  oyster  or  clam  is 
the  liver. 

Kinds  of  Food. — Some  animals  can  live  on  just  one  kind  of 
food.  The  cattle  on  the  range  will  live  and  fatten  on  fresh  or  dried 


24  GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

grass  alone.  The  horse  will  do  the  same;  only  he  should  have 
oats  or  corn  in  addition  to  grass  or  hay,  if  he  has  to  work  hard. 
A  squirrel  likes  the  kernels  of  nuj;s  and  some  of  the  grains,  but 
does  not  care  for  grass.  A  boy  or  girl  eats  more  kinds  of 
food  than  any  other  animal.  Man  requires  a  great  variety  of 
foods.  He  eats  vegetables  for  one  purpose,  meats  from  some  of 
the  animals  for  another  purpose,  and  could  not  live  in  a  healthy 
condition  if  he  did  not  have  some  food,  such  as  salt,  from  the 
mineral  kingdom. 

Different  Foods  in  Different  Countries — In  traveling  over 
the  earth,  we  find  the  people  of  one  country  eat  things  as  food 
that  people  of  other  lands  could  not  bear  to  eat  at  all.  There 
are  people  who  eat  bees  and  grasshoppers ;  others  eat  rats,  mice, 
bats,  and  lizards.  In  some  of  the  French  restaurants  roasted 
snails  are  regarded  as  a  choice  article  of  food,  while  to  most 
people  they  are  repulsive.  A  man  who  used  to  chop  wood  for 
heating  the  schoolhouse  in  which  I  first  taught,  used  to  find 
nests  of  black  ants  taking  their  long  winter  sleep  in  their 
curiously  made  houses  in  the  chunks  of  wood.  He  would  eat 
the  ants  with  his  bread  at  lunch  with  great  relish.  Yet  this 
same  man  would  never  eat  nice,  ripe  strawberries,  for  he  said 
they  made  him  ill.  He  was  certainly  a  queer  fellow,  and  I  am 
sure  his  tastes  differed  from  yours  as  well  as  my  own. 

Conditions  That  Modify  the  Demands  for  Foods — The  hab- 
its of  life,  as  well  as  the  character  of  the  climate,  make  a  great 
deal  of  difference  in  the  kind  and  amount  of  food  eaten.  The 
active  man  who  is  working  hard  at  some  heavy,  muscular  labor 
out  of  doors,  especially  in  winter,  requires  a  larger  amount  of 
food,  consisting  of  a  great  deal  of  meat,  than  does  a  person 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     25 

whose  work  is  not  so  hard.  You  have  heard  people  say  when 
they  were  very  hungry,  that  they  could  "  eat  like  a  wood-chop- 
per." And  we  will  all  agree  that  the  hard-working  wood-chop- 
per and  miner  require  more  food  than  would  the  tailor  seated 
in  his  shop,  or  the  clerk  in  a  dry-goods  store.  The  miner,  the 
woodman,  and  the  stage-driver  are  exposed  to  cold,  rough 
weather,  while  the  clerk,  the  tailor,  and  the  newspaper  editor 
are  sheltered  within  doors  during  their  work,  which,  in  addi- 
tion, does  not  require  as  much  physical  energy  as  does  the 
heavy  work  the  others  do  out  of  doors.  An  Eskimo  in  the  cold, 
frozen  North  can  eat  fifteen  pounds  of  meat  a  day,  to  which  he 
often  adds  larger  quantities  of  fat  or  blubber.  I  have  been  told 
by  Lieutenant  Schwatka,  the  Arctic  explorer,  that  he  has  seen  an 
Eskimo  eat  as  much  as  thirty-two  pounds  of  meat  and  several 
tallow  candles  in  a  single  day. 

Bodily  Heat. — In  this  connection  we  must  remember  that 
to  keep  the  bodily  functions  in  proper  working  order,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  the  body  keep  up  a  certain  degree  of  heat.  You  have 
seen  plants  killed  by  the  frost  and  withered  by  the  heat.  So 
the  different  tissues  of  the  body  will  die  if  the  bodily  heat  falls 
below  or  rises  above  a  certain  degree  of  temperature.  Thus  a 
fever  is  dangerous,  because  in  conditions  where  the  disease 
brings  on  a  fever,  a  higher  temperature  is  kept  up  than  is  good 
for  the  body,  and  little  portions  of  nerves,  muscles,  and  other 
tissues  wither  and  waste  away  as  truly  as  does  the  young,  ten- 
der plant  when  exposed  to  the  burning  heat  of  a  summer's  sun. 
The  heat  of  the  body  should  be  kept  at  an  average  temperature 
of  98.6  degrees  F.  (37  degrees  C.)  if  we  are  to  remain  in  a  state 
of  health.  One  method  of  keeping  the  body  from  losing  too 


26  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

much  heat  is  to  dress  in  heavier  or  warmer  clothing.  But  in 
the  cold  climate  of  the  frozen  North  not  enough  clothing  could 
be  put  on  the  body  to  keep  up  the  heat  to  the  point  it  must  be 
to  continue  in  perfect  health.  Another  way  to  keep  up  the 
proper  temperature  is  for  the  body  to  use  more  fuel.  That  is, 
more  food  of  the  heat-making  kind  must  be  used.  Now  meats, 
especially  fat  meats,  are  heat-making  foods.  Thus,  in  our  severe 
winters,  men  working  out  of  doors,  exposed  to  the  cold,  rough 
weather,  must  eat  more  meat  than  they  do  during  the  warm 
weather  of  the  summer.  More  pork,  especially  the  fatty  por- 
tions, such  as  bacon,  is  eaten  in  winter  than  in  summer.  The 
body  needs  it  to  keep  the  temperature  sufficiently  high  to  have 
healthy  work  done  by  the  organs.  So,  in  the  Arctic  regions,  the 
Eskimo  or  Laplander,  even  if  he  is  clothed  in  the  warm  furs  of 
the  animals  he  kills,  must  of  necessity  eat  large  quantities  of 
meat,  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  fats  are  especially  benefi- 
cial to  him  in  keeping  up  the  proper  degree  of  bodily  heat.  His 
body  demands  fats  and  oils  just  as  the  bodies  of  the  people  liv- 
ing in  tropical  regions  demand  fruits  for  their  cooling  effect.  A 
dozen  tallow  candles  are  naturally  more  highly  prized  as  food 
by  the  Eskimo  than  a  dozen  nice,  juicy  oranges.  His  body 
requires  meats,  fats,  and  oils;  and  so  he  hungers  for  them  just 
as  the  miner  or  sailor  longs  for  fresh  vegetables  after  living  for 
months  on  salted  meats  and  canned  goods.  This  need  of  his 
body  causes  the  peculiar  form  of  hunger  of  the  Eskimo,  and 
this  must  be  satisfied,  at  least  in  a  measure,  to  have  the 
degree  of  bodily  heat  so  necessary  to  health. 

In   stubborn    fevers,   such    as    typhoid,   which  cannot  be 
driven  away  by  the  usual  drugs  and  medicines,  the  heat  must 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.    27 

be  reduced  by  severe  measures.  The  sick  person  haying 
typhoid  fever  must  often  have  ice  packed  about  his  body, 
or  at  least  be  frequently  sponged  with  cold  water,  to  re- 
duce the  fever  before  it  destroys  the  tissues  of  the  body. 
If  this  is  not  done,  the  blood  becomes  so  changed  that 
many  of  the  organs  of  the  body  are  unable  to  properly  per- 
form their  functions,  and,  as  a  rule,  when  the  temperature 
of  the  body  reaches  107  or  108  degrees  F.,  unless  it  is 
quickly  lowered,  the  patient  dies.  In  former  times  many 
lives  were  lost  because  physicians  were  afraid  to  lower  the 
temperature  suddenly. 

Different  Amounts  of  Food  Required — If  you  live  on  a 
farm,  you  may  have  noticed  that  some  horses  are  "  easily  kept." 
By  this  is  meant  that  some  horses  require  but  little  food  to 
keep  them  plump  and  in  good  condition  to  do  their  work. 
There  are  other  horses  that  eat  a  much  larger  quantity  of  hay 
and  grain,  and  do  no  more  work,  and  yet  are  so  poor  and  bony 
that  their  ribs  show.  Some  pigs  can  be  fattened  for  the  mar- 
ket more  readily  and  on  a  smaller  amount  of  food  than  others. 
There  are  turkeys  that  can  never  be  made  plump  enough  for  a 
Thanksgiving  dinner,  no  matter  how  much  they  are  fed.  Some 
persons  require  a  very  small  amount  of  food  to  keep  them 
alive  and  in  good  health,  while  others  seem  to  require  a  larger 
quantity.  A  boy  or  girl  in  good  health  and  growing  rapidly 
should  have  more  food  than  one  who  has  passed  the  period  of 
rapid  growth,  because  it  is  needed  not  only  to  repair  the  loss  of 
waste  and  worn-out  particles  of  the  body,  but  to  supply  the 
demands  made  upon  the  blood  on  account  of  the  increasing  size 
of  the  organs. 


28  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

Healthful  Foods. — We  are  now  ready  to  talk  more  particu- 
larly about  the  various  foods  the  body  needs.  By  healthful 
foods  we  mean  those  that  assist*best  in  the  repair  of  waste 
tissue  and  are  more  helpful  in  promoting  the  growth  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  body.  Unhealthful  foods  are  those  that 
are  harmful.  They  are  such  as  do  not  help  the  growth  and 
repair  of  the  body.  To  sum  up  the  whole  matter  we  can  say : 
Food  is  anything  which  taken  into  the  ~body  supplies  it  with 
heat,  weight,  or  strength. 

You  have  already  learned  that  we  eat  a  greater  variety  of 
foods  than  do  other  animals.  You  know  that  our  foods  are 
obtained  from  minerals,  plants,  and  animals.  As  you  think  of 
your  breakfast,  what  foods  did  you  eat  that  came  from  animals? 
What  from  vegetables  ?  What  mineral  substance  did  you  eat  ? 

MINERAL  FOODS. 

Salt. — This  is  the  chief  food  from  the  mineral  kingdom. 
Salt  is  present  in  every  part  of  the  body  except  the  enamel 
of  the  teeth.  If  we  do  not  take  salt  with  our  food  we  suffer 
greatly,  since  it  is  so  necessary  to  the  body.  In  nearly  all  the 
foods  we  use,  salt  is  naturally  present  in  small  quantities. 
Vegetables  in  growing  take  up  salt  from  the  soil.  All  the 
meats  contain  a  little  salt  absorbed  from  the  blood  of  the 
animals.  But  the  salt  naturally  found  in  our  foods  is  not 
enough,  so  in  cooking  more  salt  is  added.  Sometimes  we  add 
it  at  the  table.  Food  does  not  taste  good  if  unsalted.  A  little 
salt  not  only  makes  the  food  taste  better,  but  it  causes  the 
digestive  juices  to  flow,  and  it  creates  an  appetite.  This  is  a 
very  good  illustration  of  how  nature  provides  for  us.  Salted 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     29 

food  will  cause  the  "mouth  to  water,"  and  all  the  digestive 
fluids  to  flow  freely,  so  that  it  is  more  easily  and  quickly  digested 
than  unsalted  food. 

Every  stock-raiser  knows  that  animals  must  have  salt  to 
do  well.  If  they  are  not  given  any  salt  their  hides  grow  rough, 
they  become  less  active,  are  soon  dull  and  stupid,  and  finally 
lose  health  and  strength.  Just  watch  how  quickly  sheep  come 
at  the  call  of  the  farmer,  if  they  think  they  can  thus  get  the 
salt  they  crave.  Wild  animals,  such  as  deer  and  bear,  will  go 
long  distances  and  even  risk  their  lives  to  get  to  a  salt  spring, 
or  "salt  lick,"  that  they  may  secure  some  of  this  necessary  min- 
eral substance.  It  is  fortunate  that  salt  is  plentiful  and  cheap, 
since  it  is  so  essential  to  health  and  strength.  It  is  found  in 
many  portions  of  our  country.  Can  you  tell  where  and  how 
salt  is  obtained  ? 

Other  Mineral  Foods. — Lime,  soda,  potash,  and  iron  are 
taken  into  the  body  in  various  forms,  but  in  very  small  quanti- 
ties. A  small  amount  of  lime  is  found  in  every  portion  of  the 
body.  The  bones  are  more  than  one-half  lime.  Altogether  there 
are  about  ten  pounds  of  lime  in  our  bodies.  However,  it  does 
not  waste  and  leave  the  body  very  rapidly,  so  we  do  not  have 
to  take  more  than  six  grains  a  day  with  our  food.  Your  teacher 
will  show  you  how  much  six  grains  of  lime  are.  Soda  and 
potash  destroy  disturbing  acids  within  the  body.  This  is  the 
reason  that  in  case  of  a  sour  stomach  or  "heart  burn,"  a 
little  pinch  of  common  cooking  soda,  sometimes  called  saleratus, 
will  give  great  relief.  Green  foods  should  be  eaten,  especially 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  because  of  the  iron  they  contain. 
Spinach,  lettuce,  dandelion  greens,  and  similar  foods  contain 


30  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

iron  in  a  form  that  can  be  taken  up  by  the  blood  better  than 
a  similar  amount  of  iron  taken  as   a  tonic  in  the  form  of 

medicine. 

«  <* 

ANIMAL    FOODS. 

The  principal  foods  obtained  from  animals  are  milk,  butter, 
cheese,  eggs,  and  the  different  kinds  of  flesh — beef,  mutton, 
pork,  fish,  fowl,  and  wild  game. 

Milk. — Pure,  fresh  milk  is  the  only  perfect  food.  It  is  the 
only  food  that  contains  all  the  elements  your  bodies  most 
require.  Being  a  fluid,  it  is  very  easily  digested.  Physicians 
use  it  more  than  any  other  food  for  people  who  are  sick,  because 
it  is  so  easily  digested  and  has  the  power  of  sustaining  life 
longer  than  other  foods.  Milk  should  be  kept  in  a  clean  room, 
where  the  air  is  .always  pure.  If  this  is  not  done,  poisonous 
gases  will  be  absorbed  and  the  milk  thus  becomes  injurious  as 
food.  If  a  pan  of  milk  is  placed  in  an  ice-box  near  a  bunch  of 
onions,  or  in  a  small  room  near  a  can  of  coal-oil;  the  milk  soon 
becomes  tainted,  as  you  may  easily  detect  on  tasting  it.  In 
the  same  way  it  will  absorb  poisons  from  foul  air. 

In  cities  milk  is  often  adulterated  by  the  addition  of  water. 
Sometimes  this  water  is  impure,  and  the  milk  is  thus  made  the 
means  of  carrying  disease  germs  to  our  bodies.  Some  substance, 
as  formalin,  is  often  added  to  milk  by  dealers  to  keep  it  from 
becoming  sour.  In  this  way  old,  impure  milk  is  often  sold  for 
fresh,  sweet  milk,  and  much  harm  done  to  the  children  using 
it.  Because  milk  is  so  easily  tainted  and  adulterated,  nearly 
every  large  city  has  an  army  of  milk  inspectors  connected  with 
the  board  of  health,  whose  business  it  is  to  examine  all  the 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     31 

milk  brought  into  the  city  for  sale.  If  the  milk  is  found  to  be 
unfit,  dealers  are  not  permitted  to  sell  it,  and  it  is  destroyed  by 
the  inspector.  By  this  method  of  milk  inspection  the  lives  of 
thousands  of  little  children  have  been  saved  in  our  cities  the 
last  few  years.  Fresh  milk  is  the  best  kind  of  food  we  can 
take.  If  its  value  as  a  food  were  better  understood,  it  would 
be  more  generally  used.  It  should,  however,  never  be  ice-cold 
when  taken  into  the  stomach. 

Butter. — Butter  is  a  most  important  article  of  food.  It 
supplies  the  body  with  much  of  the  fatty  material  needed. 
It  also  gives  a  better  taste  to  some  other  foods,  making  them 
more  readily  eaten  and  more  easily  digested.  Looked  at  under 
the  microscope,  a  drop  of  milk  appears  as  a  number  of  little  oil 
particles  floating  in  water.  This  oil  or  fat  in  milk  is  called 
cream.  Oil  is  lighter  than  water;  thus,  when  a  crock  of  milk 
is  allowed  to  stand,  we  know  that  the  "  cream  rises "  to  the  sur- 
face, and  can  easily  be  skimmed  off  to  be  churned  into  butter. 
The  process  of  churning  cream  consists,  then,  in  the  beating  of 
the  little  fatty  particles,  or  oil  drops,  into  one  solid  mass,  or 
butter.  The  buttermilk  remaining  after  churning  is  a  healthful, 
cooling  drink  in  hot  summer  time,  but  it  contains  very  little 
nourishment. 

Cheese. — More  nourishment  is  contained  in  cheese  than  in 
most  of  the  lean  meats,  but  it  is  very  hard  to  digest.  This  is 
the  reason  that  it  is  not  used  very  extensively  as  a  food.  In 
many  parts  of  Europe  it  is  used  in  place  of  meat,  especially  by 
laboring  people.  It  is  a  cheap  food,  and  might  well  be  more 
largely  used  by  men  working  out  of  doors,  for  their  active 
exercise  will  greatly  assist  digestion.  If  cheese  be  taken  with 


32  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

a  little  milk  it  is  more  easily  digested.  This  is  the  reason  that 
"  cottage  cheese  "  or  "  smear-case  "  is  such  a  wholesome  food. 

Eggs. — Eggs  are  very  excellent  food.  They  are  easily 
digested  when  properly  cooked,  and  contain  much  nourishment. 
They  are  most  digestible  when  soft-boiled  in  the  shell,  or  when 
"poached  "  by  being  broken  into  a  shallow  pan  of  boiling  water. 
Some  children  do  not  like  the  yellow  part,  or  the  yolk  of  the 
egg,  and  eat  only  the  white.  Thus  they  do  not  get  all  the  food 
elements  of  the  egg,  for  the  white  and  yolk  contain  very  differ- 
ent food  properties.  The  white  contains  no  fat,  but  consider- 
able water;  the  yolk  contains  considerable  fat,  or  yellow  oil, 
and  very  little  water. 

Meats. — The  meats  used  as  food  are  rich  in  nourishment. 
They  are  very  desirable  because  of  their  pleasant  taste  as  well 
as  their  excellent  food  properties.  Beef  is  regarded  as  the  best 
meat  for  general  use.  It  is  more  easily  digested  than  veal  or 
pork.  Some  of  the  cheaper  beefsteaks,  such  as  round  steak,  are 
more  nourishing  than  some  of  the  more  expensive  portions,  ten- 
derloin steak,  for  example.  Mutton  ranks  next  to  beef,  and  is 
a  very  healthful  food  if  properly  cooked.  Some  people,  how- 
ever, do  not  like  the  taste  of  mutton.  Mutton  broth,  like  beef 
tea,  is  very  nutritious  and  easily  digested,  and  is,  therefore,  a 
very  valuable  food  for  the  sick.  Veal  is  not  easily  digested. 
It  is  not  a  very  good  food,  for  it  does  not  contain  much  nour- 
ishment. As  a  food  it  does  not  compare  in  value  with  either 
beef  or  mutton.  Pork  is  not  readily  digested,  but  is  more  nutri- 
tious than  veal.  It  can  be  eaten  only  by  those  who  have 
strong  digestive  powefs,  and  by  those  who  exercise  a  great  deal. 
Fish  contains  important  food  elements.  While  not  quite  so 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     33 

easily  digested  as  meat,  it  can  in  a  measure  take  the  place  of 
meat  as  a  change.  People  used  to  think  it  a  particularly  good 
brain  food,  but  the  brain  is  really  nourished  by  the  same  ele- 
ments as  the  other  parts  of  the  body.  Fish,  therefore,  is  not 
nearly  as  nourishing  for  the  brain  as  a  good  beefsteak  would  be. 
Fish  should  always  be  eaten  when  fresh,  for  it  is  very  quick  to 
decay.  Salted  fish,  like  any  salted  or  "  cured  "  meats,  are  more 
difficult  to  digest  than  fresh,  and  yet  salted  codfish  is  a  very 
excellent  food,  being  nourishing  and  at  the  same  time  cheap. 
We  find  shell-fish,  such  as  oysters  and  clams,  very  good  for  food, 
more  especially  when  eaten  raw.  When  cooked  they  are 
harder  to  digest.  When  raw,  their  own  juices  assist  a  great 
deal  in  their  digestion,  and  by  cooking,  these  juices  are  so 
changed  as  to  be  of  no  use  whatever  in  digestion.  Because  of 
their  easy  digestion,  fresh,  raw  oysters  are  an  excellent  food  in 
sickness.  Crabs  and  lobsters  are  harder  to  digest  than  oysters, 
but  when  well  cooked  are  good  food. 

Animal  and  Vegetable  Foods  Compared. — It  is  now  a  well- 
known  fact  that  almost  all  animal  food  is  more  easily  digested 
than  vegetable  food,  and  should  be  used  by  children  and  sick 
persons,  whose  organs  of  digestion  are  not  as  strong  as  those  of 
grown  persons  in  perfect  health.  Growing  boys  and  girls  need 
some  meat,  and  should  have  it,  or  eggs,  at  least  once  a  day. 
Of  course  it  is  possible  to  live  a  healthy  life  without  eating 
meat,  but  vegetables  are  by  no  means  the  best  kind  of  food. 
Animal  food  contains  practically  no  starch,  and  as  the  vegetable 
foods  are  rich  in  starch,  some  vegetable  foods  must  be  eaten  in 
order  to  supply  the  body  with  the  starch  and  sugar  so  much 
needed. 

3 


34  GRADED   LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

VEGETABLE    FOODS. 

Bread — While  bread  is  sometimes  called  the  "  staff  of  life," 
it  is  not  a  perfect  food  when  used  alone.  It  contains  very  little 
fat  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  starch.  Bread  is  half  starch, 
and  only  one-seventieth  fat.  Butter  must  be  added  to  make 
it  a  complete  diet.  So  while  bread  may  be  the  staff  of  life, 
bread  and  butter  together  are  "  a  gold-headed  cane,"  as  some- 
one has  said.  Cheese,  being  rich  in  fats,  may  take  the  place  of 
butter.  In  some  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  black  bread  and 
rich  cheese  form  the  main  articles  of  diet  of  the  peasants. 
Together  they  make  a  fairly  complete  and  very  nourishing  food. 
With  milk,  bread  is  also  a  valuable  food,  especially  for  the 
young.  Bread  made  of  whole  wheat  flour  contains  more  food 
elements  than  the  flour  used  to  make  white  bread.  Newly 
baked  bread  is  very  difficult  to  digest^  since  it  is  apt  to  form 
such  a  soft,  pasty  mass  in  the  mouth  that  by  the  time  it 
reaches  the  stomach  it  is  a  solid  lump  which  the  digestive 
juices  cannot  easily  enter  and  dissolve. 

Potatoes  are  a  good  food  with  meat,  but  hard  to  digest. 
They  contain  no  fat.  In  fact,  potatoes  alone  do  not  constitute 
a  very  complete  food.  They  should  be  eaten  with  butter,  meat, 
or  meat  gravy.  Beans  are  a  valuable  food  for  a  strong,  healthy 
person,  but  persons  with  weak  digestive  organs  should  not  eat 
them.  When  either  beans  or  peas  are  used,  they  should  be 
cooked  a  long  time,  and  in  eating  them,  one  should  be 
very  careful  to  see  that  they  are  thoroughly  chewed.  The 
cereals,  as  oats,  corn,  and  rice,  are  chiefly  starch.  Rice  con- 
tains about  ninety  per  cent  starch.  Corn  contains  more  fat 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     35 

than  the  other  grains,  but  all  vegetable  fat  is  hard  to  digest, 
and  is  of  little  value  as  food.  Turnips,  cabbage,  parsnips,  and 
other  vegetables  give  variety  to  our  list  of  foods.  They  are  all 
difficult  to  digest,  and  contain  very  little  nourishment. 

Fruits — All  fruit  is  hard  to  digest.  Apples,  pears,  grapes, 
peaches  and  similar  fruits  really  contain  but  little  food.  They 
contain  some  sugar,  a  slight  amount  of  mineral  matter,  and  the 
acids  that  give  them  their  taste.  These  acids,  in  a  measure, 
stimulate  the  appetite  and  promote  the  flow  of  saliva  and  gas- 
tric juice.  The  main  use  of  fruit  does  not  consist  in  the  real 
food  contained,  but  in  the  fact  that  it  is  not  digested  but  car- 
ried down  the  intestines  quite  rapidly,  thus  sweeping  along 
before  it  refuse  food  and  waste  substances  that  have  accu- 
mulated, thereby  keeping  the  intestines  clean  and  in  good 
condition.  Eipe  fruits  in  their  season  are  the  most  beneficial, 
while  too  ripe  or  unripe  fruits  often  cause  illness.  Much  of  the 
danger  of  unripe  fruits  may  be  removed  by  cooking.  Green 
vegetables,  such  as  raw  cabbage,  lettuce,  radishes,  beets,  and 
celery,  act  like  fruit  and  are  similar,  but  they  contain  even  less 
nourishment  than  fruit.  A  great  danger  in  eating  much  fruit 
is  that  it  may  sour  and  decay  in  the  intestines,  just  as  it  does 
outside  the  body.  When  this  occurs,  as  is  often  the  case, 
severe,  painful  illness  arises,  as  this  decayed  fruit  in  the  bowels 
is  very  poisonous.  Nuts  are  often  highly  praised  as  foods 
because  they  contain  more  fats  than  do  other  vegetable  foods, 
but  the  fat  or  oil  contained  in  nuts  is  especially  hard  to  digest. 
Spices,  such  as  mustard,  pepper,  and  cloves,  burn  the  stomach 
just  as  they  burn  the  mouth.  If  we  put  mustard  on  the  skin 
it  will  make  the  skin  red.  Spices  do  not  nourish  the  body  in 


36  GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

any  way,  and  therefore  are  not  food.  Having  no  value  as 
food,  they  are  often  used  to  season  bad  food,  and  to  cover  up 
the  taste  of  injurious  foods,  and  in  this  way  they  may  also 
prove  quite  harmful. 

Candy  and  Preserves — These  contain  chiefly  sugar.  A 
certain  amount  of  sugar  is  needed  by  the  body,  so  a  limited 
amount  of  pure  candy  is  healthful.  The  harm  arising  from 
eating  candy  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  apt  to  be  eaten  between 
meals,  when  the  stomach  should  be  given  a  chance  to  rest. 
Again,  too  much  candy  may  be  eaten  at  one  time.  Whether 
in  the  form  of  candy  or  other  sweets,  excessive  amounts  of 
sugar  cause  the  liver  to  be  overworked  and  a  bilious  attack 
results. 

Time  Required  for  Digestion — You  have  noticed  that 
some  foods  are  easily  digested  while  others  are  quite  difficult 
of  digestion.  Some  foods  are  not  good,  especially  for  young, 
growing  persons,  because  they  require  too  much  time  for  diges- 
tion, thus  giving  the  stomach  little  or  no  opportunity  for  rest. 
The  time  required  for  stomach  digestion  was  first  discovered  in 
a  very  interesting  and  peculiar  way.  A  man  by  the  name  of 
Alexis  St.  Martin  had  an  opening  from  the  surface  of  his  body 
directly  into  the  stomach,  as  the  result  of  a  gunshot  wound, 
so  that  the  stomach  could  be  looked  into,  and  the  time  required 
for  digesting  the  various  foods  could  be  closely  observed  and 
studied.  Other  cases,  similar  to  that  of  St.  Martin,  have  since 
occurred,  and  more  observations  have  been  made,  so  that  we 
know  that  stomach  digestion  requires  from  one  to  four  hours  as 
shown  in  the  following  table: 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     37 

HRS.       MIN.  HRS.       MlK. 

Rice,  1  00  Beef,  broiled,  3  00 

Pigs  Feet,  soused,      -  1  00  Mutton,  boiled,  3  00 

Venison  Steak,  broiled,  1  30  Mutton,  roasted,  -         3  15 

Salmon  Trout,  boiled,  1  30  Oysters,  fried,    -  3  30 

Apples,  sweet,  1  30  Potatoes,  boiled,  -         3  30 

Milk,  boiled,  2  00  Eggs,  hard  boiled,  -         3  30 

Codfish,  salted  or  cured,  2  00  Pork,  broiled,    -  -         3  30 

Tapioca,  2  00  Beef,  fried,  4  00 

Cabbage,  raw,  2  00  Salmon,  boiled,  4  00 

Goose,  roasted,  2  30  Ducks,  roasted,  4  00 

Oysters,  raw,     -  2  30  Cheese,      -  4  00 

Potatoes,  baked,        -  2  30  Cabbage,  boiled,  -         4  30 

Chicken,  boiled,  2  45  Pork,  fried,  4  30 

Turkey,  roasted,        -  2  45  Veal,  fried,  4  30 

Beef,  roasted,  3  00  Pork,  roasted,    -  5  20 

Cooking. — You  have  already  learned  that  cooking  is  the 
first  step  in  the  process  of  digestion.  By  cooking,  our  food  is 
rendered  soft  so  as  to  be  easily  chewed.  Cooking,  as  a  rule, 
also  improves  the  taste  of  the  food  so  that  it  is  more  agreeable. 
It  also  destroys  many  of  the  disease  germs  that  lurk  in  food. 
Cooked  food,  then,  should  taste  well,  and  be  soft  or  brittle,  so 
that  it  can  be  chewed  fine.  If  food  remains  tough,  it  is  not 
well  cooked,  or  it  was  unfit  in  the  first  place.  Improper  cook- 
ing may  make  what  would  otherwise  be  the  best  foods  harmful 
to  us.  There  are  three  good  ways  of  cooking — broiling,  roast- 
ing, and  boiling. 

Broiling  is  the  best  way  in  which  to  cook  meats.  Eoasting 
is  the  next  best,  and  boiling  comes  next.  Frying  is  apt  to 
make  the  meat  hard  and  dry,  and  therefore  difficult  of  diges- 
tion. When  food  is  to  be  fried,  great  care  should  be  taken  to 


38  GKADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

have  the  pan  itself,  or  the  lard  or  butter,  if  they  are  to  be  used, 
very  hot  before  the  food  is  placed  in  it,  and  kept  hot  until 
cooked,  so  that  as  little  fat  as  possible  may  be  absorbed  by  the 
food.  In  cooking  meats,  the  natural  juices  should  be  kept  in 
them  as  much  as  possible.  In  broiling  a  beefsteak  over  a  hot 
fire  the  heat  almost  instantly  seals  up  the  meat  so  that  the 
juices  cannot  escape.  In  boiling,  the  meat  should  be  placed 
in  boiling  water,  and  roasts  should  be  placed  in  a  very  hot 
oven  in  order  that  the  juices  may  be  retained.  If,  however, 
we  wish  to  make  soups,  such  as  mutton  or  beef  broth,  we  then 
desire  to  use  the  meat  juices  rather  than  the  meat  itself.  In 
this  case  the  meat  should  be  cut  into  small  pieces  and  placed 
in  cold  water,  and  then  gradually  brought  to  the  boiling  point. 
In  this  way  the  nourishing  juices  are  extracted.  Cooking  is  an 
art  that  should  be  carefully  studied,  in  order  that  our  food 
may  be  so  prepared  as  to  do  the  most  good. 

Adulteration  of  Foods. — Many  of  our  foods  are  sometimes 
spoiled  by  persons  who  manufacture  or  sell  them,  putting  into 
them  cheaper  substances  that  are  dangerous  to  health.  Such 
persons  seem  to  care  little  for  the  purity  of  foods,  but  are 
chiefly  interested  in  making  the  most  money  possible  out  of 
them.  So  common  has  this  adulteration  become  that  in  most 
of  the  states  the  law-making  power  has  passed  pure  food  bills 
to  prevent  the  sale  of  such  adulterated  articles.  These  laws 
are  most  worthy  and  should  be  strictly  enforced,  for  what  is 
money-making  by  a  few  individuals  compared  with  the  health 
of  the  people  of  an  entire  city  or  state,  which  may  be  greatly 
endangered  by  the  use  of  these  impure  or  adulterated  foods? 
The  foods  most  often  adulterated  are  sugar,  candy,  syrup,  milk, 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS     39 

butter,  chocolate,  coffee,  flour,  baking  powder,  breadj  and  jellies. 
Sugar,  syrup,  and  candy  are  sometimes  made  from  corn  by  a 
peculiar  process,  by  means  of  which  the  starch  of  the  corn  is 
changed  into  glucose,  and  a  kind  of  sugar  not  so  sweet  or 
healthful  as  sugar  made  from  sugar-cane  or  sugar  beets.  This 
sugar  is  quite  apt  to  ferment,  or  sour,  and  decay  within  the 
bowels,  thus  causing  disease.  Some  candies  are  colored  with 
poisonous  matter.  The  plain,  cheap  candie  are,  as  a  rule,  the 
purest  and  most  healthful,  as  it  is  the  high-priced  confections 
that  are  the  most  frequently  adulterated. 

Milk  is  often  adulterated  by  the  addition  of  water  and  some 
white  substance,  such  as  chalk.  This  not  only  thins  the  milk 
and  makes  the  same  amount  less  nourishing,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  water  thus  added  is  often  impure,  and  in  this  way 
disease  germs  are  added  to  the  milk,  causing  sickness  and  death. 

Butter  is  sometimes  made  entirely  from  lard,  tallow,  and 
cotton-seed  oil,  to  which  coloring  matter  is  added  to  make  it 
look  like  pure,  yellow  butter  made  of  rich  cream.  This  product 
is  called  lutterine,  or  oleomargarine.  It  can  be  sold  for  about 
half  what  good  butter  would  bring.  If  the  lard  or  tallow  is 
obtained  from  diseased  animals,  the  butterine  made  from  it  is 
apt  to  prove  very  injurious.  If  cleanly  made  from  pure  lard  or 
tallow,  it  is  not  so  harmful  and  may  be  used  without  danger, 
especially  in  the  place  of  "  cooking  butter."  But  when  so  made 
there  is  not  so  much  profit  in  selling  it  as  when  made  from 
cheaper,  unclean  materials.  Almost  all  of  the  states  have  laws 
against  the  sale  of  butterine,  without  its  being  so  stamped  as  to 
plainly  show  to  the  person  buying  it  that  it  is  not  genuine  but- 
ter, but  an  imitation.  Such  laws  are  right  in  protecting  the 


40  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

people  against  false  or  counterfeit  foods,  and  in  preventing 
people  from  being  imposed  upon.  Has  your  state  such  a  law  ? 

Chocolate,  coffee,  and  flour  are*-adulterated  in  various  ways. 
The  chief  way  of  adulterating  flour  is  to  add  very  fine  corn 
meal  or  corn  flour.  This  is  heavier  than  pure  wheat  flour,  and 
as  flour  is  sold  by  weight,  the  person  buying  it  is  cheated.  Be- 
sides, the  fine  corn  flour  added  is  not  so  nourishing  as  the  same 
amount  of  wheat  flour  would  be. 

Bakery  bread  and  cake  are  often  made  impure  by  the  addi- 
tion of  ammonia  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  loaf  lighter  and 
whiter.  Not  only  is  ammonia  injurious,  but  a  loaf  of  bread 
made  in  this  manner  weighs  less  than  the  same  sized  loaf 
would  if  made  without  such  an  ingredient.  Consequently  the 
customer  does  not  get  the  same  amount  of  nourishment  from  a 
five-cent  loaf  of  bread  made  with  ammonia  that  he  would  in 
a  similar  loaf  made  without  it. 

Baking  powder  is  often  made  impure  and  harmful  by  the 
addition  of  alum.  Any  baking  powder  containing  alum  is 
injurious.  You  know  how  home-made  jellies  and  preserves 
taste.  They  are  also  wholesome  foods.  When  made  from  the 
pure  juices  of  fruits  and  pure  sugar  they  are  expensive.  On 
this  account  much  jelly  is  sold  at  a  low  price,  made  from  a 
brittle,  glue-like  substance  called  gelatine,  to  which  acids  are 
added,  besides  some  unhealthful  coloring  matter  to  make  them 
look  like  the  pure  jellies  made  at  home  from  currants,  straw- 
berries, grapes,  and  other  fruits. 

Perhaps  you  have  heard  people  speak  jokingly  of  wooden 
nutmegs,  hickory  hams,  and  oats  made  by  whittling  shoe-pegs, 
all  said  to  be  the  invention  of  the  ingenious  Connecticut  Yan- 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS.     41 

kee  of  fifty  years  ago.  But  these  are  as  nothing  compared 
with  the  food  adulterations  of  to-day,  which  are  so  skillfully 
carried  out  that  detection  of  the  adulteration  is  difficult.  They 
grow  out  of  a  general  demand  for  cheap  things,  and  when  the 
genuine  article  cannot  be  supplied  at  a  profit,  we  find  some 
skillful  adulteration  taking  its  place.  In  addition  to  those 
already  noted,  please  observe  the  following  list.  Not  only  do  we 
have  artificial  eggs,  artificial  butter  and  adulterated  wheat 
flour,  but  we  have  buckwheat  adulterated  with  wheat  mid- 
dlings, cider  vinegar  distilled  from  grains,  lemon  extracts  made 
without  lemon  oil,  and  vanilla  extracts  without  a  trace  of 
vanilla.  We  buy  "Vermont  Maple  Syrup"  that  never  was 
within  a  thousand  miles  of  Vermont,  but  was  made  in  a  little, 
dingy  city  factory.  Milk  is  robbed  of  its  cream,  filled  with  lard, 
and  sold  all  over  the  world  in  "American  Pure  Cream  Cheese." 
Nearly  all  of  the  cheap  strained  honey  is  made  without  the 
effort  of  a  single  bee.  Artificial  smoke  is  made  out  of  poison- 
ous drugs,  for  the  purpose  of  quickly  curing  hams  and  bacon. 
Oysters  are  partially  embalmed  with  chemicals.  Spices  made 
from  ground  pepper  hulls,  ground  cocoanut  shells,  and  ground 
bark  are  manufactured  and  sold  by  the  ton.  Canned  fruits  are 
often  preserved  with  antiseptic  drugs  which  interfere  with 
digestion.  This  is  only  a  partial  list,  but  it  is  enough  to  show 
that  we  are  oftentimes  cheated  in  buying  food. 

The  adulteration  of  food  is  wrong,  and  people  are  right  in 
insisting  that  laws  be  passed  to  prevent  the  sale  and  use  of 
impure  foods. 

Diseased  Foods — Animals  become  sick,  and  when  in  this 
condition  are  sometimes  killed,  and  their  parts  sold  as  food. 


42 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


Vegetables  may  also  be  diseased.  Such  meat  or  vegetables  are 
never  good  for  food.  Dishonest  dealers  will  sometimes  sell 
them  to  those  who  are  not  aware,,  of  their  condition,  and  thus 
cause  illness  and  sometimes  death  in  the  persons  eating  them. 
Diseased  food  is  as  bad  as  decayed  or  spoiled  food.  Consump- 
tion is  often  caught  by 
persons  eating  the  meat 
from  diseased  cattle,  or 
drinking  milk  from  cows 
having  this  disease.  Of 
the  different  meats,  pork 
most  often  contains  disease 
germs.  Meat  should  never 
be  eaten  raw.  It  should 
always  be  well  cooked,  as 
the  heat  employed  in  cook- 
ing will  destroy  any  germs 
of  disease  %that  might  be 
lurking  in  the  meat. 

Other  Harmful  Foods. 
— Food  which  is  decayed 

or  spoiled,  and  thus  tastes  musty  or  tainted,  is  always  unfit,  and 
may  even  be  poisonous.  Spoiled  milk  is  perhaps  the  worst  of 
all.  Young  children  should  never  drink  milk  which  is  the  least 
bit  sour.  Moldy  bread,  tainted  meat,  or  decayed  fruit  should 
never  be  eaten.  Meat  which  is  pale,  yellowish,  or  very  dark, 
is  unhealthful.  Canned  foods,  especially  canned  fish,  canned 
beef,  potted  ham,  tongue,  and  similarly  prepared  meats,  spoil 
very  quickly  after  being  opened  and  exposed  to  the  air.  Any 


FIGURE  7.— Diseased  Pork,  highly  magnified, 
showing  Trichinae. 


HEALTHFUL   AND   UNHEALTHFUL   FOODS.  43 

canned  food  should  be  eaten  the  same  day  it  is  opened. 
Unripe  foods,  whether  fruits  or  vegetables,  are  unfit,  more  par- 
ticularly if  they  are  not  cooked. 

Partial  Starvation — A  very  good  illustration  of  what  is 
meant  by  partial  starvation  is  found  in  the  experience  of  many 
sailors  and  some  of  the  unfortunate  miners  in  the  Klondike. 
Men,  in  their  rush  to  the  gold  fields  of  Alaska,  in  selecting  the 
food  supply  to  be  taken  out  with  them  seemed  to  consider  only 
the  amount  of  space  such  food  would  occupy  on  the  crowded 
boats,  or  what  it  would  weigh  when  they  "  packed  "  it  over  the 
trail.  Many  of  them  did  not  consider  at  all  the  question 
of  health.  Therefore  the  meats  selected  were  either  salted, 
smoked,  cured,  or  dried.  These  would  have  been  all  right 
if  other  necessary  foods  had  also  been  taken  along,  but 
a  constant  diet  of  salted  or  cured  meats,  without  the 
counteracting  acids  of  fruits,  produces  the  dreadful  disease 
known  as  "scurvy."  The  life  of  many  a  poor  fellow  that 
died  of  scurvy  in  the  gold  fields,  would  have  been  saved,  if 
with  the  salted  meats  and  canned  goods  upon  which  he  made 
his  meals,  he  had  occasionally  taken  some  juice  of  the  lime  or 
lemon.  Sailors  found  this  out  long  ago,  and  the  ship's  doctor 
always  has  on  hand  a  good  supply  of  these  acid  juices  with 
which  to  prevent  scurvy.  Scurvy  is  a  disease  resulting  from  a 
form  of  partial  starvation. 

It  is  certainly  true  that  every  person  requires  not  only  a 
certain  amount  of  food,  but  also  a  variety.  The  kinds  of  food 
which  the  body  demands  and  must  have,  fall  into  four  groups: 

1.  Proteids.  3.     Carbo-hydrates. 

2.  Fats.  4.     Salts. 


44  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

Proteids  are  necessary  food  elements,  and  are  found  in  such 
foods  as  beef,  mutton,  eggs,  milk,  and  cheese.  The  proteids  are 
tissue  formers.  No  new  tissue  vean  be  formed  in  the  body 
without  them;  so  lacking  these,  growth  is  impossible.  Milk  is 
the  best  food  for  children,  because  it  contains  several  proteids. 
Eggs  and  meat  should  be  added  as  soon  as  children  are  able  to 
properly  chew  and  digest  them.  It  is  a  positive  fact  that  the 
diet  of  children  should  be  more  nutritious,  instead  of  less  nutri- 
tious, than  that  of  adults.  If  there  are  not  enough  proteids  in 
the  child's  food  he  suffers  from  partial  starvation.  This  lack 
of  food  with  respect  to  quality  occasions  starvation  of  the  body 
as  truly  as  a  lack  of  the  proper  amount  of  food.  Many  children 
suffer  from  proteid  starvation. 

The  fats  include  such  foods  as  butter,  cream,  the  fatty 
substance  in  milk,  and  the  fats  of  meats.  In  proportion  to  the 
whole  amount  of  food  eaten,  the  child  requires  more  fat  in 
his  food  than  does  the  adult.  Children  often  suffer  from  fat 
starvation.  Growing  bone  needs  fat,  and  that'  is  one  reason 
that  children  require  so  large  a  proportion  of  fat  in  their  foods* 
We  must  repeat  what  we  have  said  before  in  this  chapter,  that 
the  fats  derived  from  animals,  such  as  rich  milk,  butter,  and 
fatty  meats,  are  much  more  easily  digested  than  the  vegetable 
fats. 

The  carlo-liydrates  include  such  foods  as  starch  and  sugar. 
These  are  as  necessary  to  complete  feeding  as  are  the  proteids 
and  fats.  The  carbo-hydrates  are  usually  fed  in  abundance  to 
children,  as  they  constitute  the  chief  element  in  wheat,  crack- 
ers, oatmeal,  and  bread.  Carbo-hydrate  starvation,  then,  is  not 
very  common,  except  that  some  children  do  not  get  enough  sugar. 


HEALTHFUL  AND  UNHEALTHFUL  FOODS,     45 

The  salts  include  common  salt,  lime,  soda,  and  potash. 
These  we  have  already  mentioned  as  necessary  food  elements. 

To  sum  up  in  a  general  way  our  talk  about  healthful  and 
unhealthful  foods,  we  must  say  that  every  particle  of  food  that 
enters  the  stomach  either  benefits  or  harms  the  body.  The 
amount  of  strength  we  have,  the  quality  of  our  health,  and  the 
bodily  heat  all  depend  upon  the  kind  of  fuel  we  use  in  the 
machinery  of  our  bodies.  Many  diseases  are  due  to  improper 
food.  Each  pain  you  have  is  a  little  signal  notifying  you  that 
somewhere  in  your  body  there  is  either  a  lack  or  excess  of 
supply. 

REVIEW   QUESTIONS. 

1.  When  a  person  is  sick,  why  do  we  give  him  much  of 
his  food  in  liquid  form? 

2.  Why   are   different   kinds   of    food   eaten   in    different 
climates? 

3.  How  is  the  bodily  heat  kept  up  to  the  proper  degree? 

4.  Do  all  people  require  the  same  amount  of  food? 

5.  What   is   meant   by   healthful  foods?     By  unhealthful 
foods? 

6.  What  foods  do  we  get  from  the  mineral  kingdom?   From 
animals?     From  the  vegetable  kingdom? 

7.  Why  is  milk  called  the  only  "perfect  food"?     What  is 
the  necessity  for  milk  inspection? 

8.  What  is  the  food  value  of  butter,  cheese,  and  eggs? 

9.  How  do  the  different  meats  compare  as  foods? 

10.  What  is  the  comparative  value  of  animal  and  vegetable 
foods? 

11.  Are  fruits  eaten  simply  for  their  food  properties? 

12.  Why  should  our  food  be  properly  cooked?     What  are  the 
different  methods  of  cooking? 

13.  What  is  meant  by  adulteration  of  foods?     Give  illustra- 
tions of  food  adulterations. 

14.  What  is  meant  by  "partial  starvation"? 


.'*' 

CHAPTER  III. 

OUB,   DEINK. 

If  a  boy  or  girl  weighs  one  hundred  pounds,  it  is  estimated 
that  70  per  cent  of  this  amount  is  water.  Nearly  three-fourths, 
then,  of  the  weight  of  the  body  is  due  to  the  water  it  con- 
tains. If  all  the  liquids  and  moisture  could  be  dried  out  of  your 
body,  it  would  shrink  up  so  as  to  be  surprisingly  small.  Pure 
drinking  water  is  necessary  to  life  and  health.  The  body 
naturally  craves  water  more  than  it  does  food.  A  person  can 
live  longer  without  food  than  without  water.  Water  is  the 
only  substance  that  will  quench  thirst.  Other  drinks,  such  as 
milk,  tea,  and  coffee,  consist  of  water  containing  certain  solids, 
and  do  not  quench  thirst  so  completely  as  water: 

We  know  that  the  liquid  part  of  the  blood  carries  the  food 
we  eat  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  This  liquid  in  the  blood  comes 
from  the  water  we  drink  and  the  water  contained  in  the  foods 
we  eat.  You  can  see  the  water  in  fruit,  for  it  is  the  water 
that  makes  the  fruit  juicy.  Water  constitutes  one-half  of  the 
weight  of  beef,  and  three-fourths  of  the  seemingly  dry  and 
mealy  potatoes  we  eat.  Milk  is  nine-tenths  water. 

Uses  of  Water — The  chief  uses  of  water  to  the  body  are : 
1.  To  soften  the  food  in  cooking.  2.  To  form  the  liquid  part 
of  the  blood,  and  thus  carry  food  in  the  blood  to  all  parts  of 
the  body.  3.  To  take  up  and  remove  the  waste  elements  in 

46 


OUR   DRINK,  47 

the  tissues  of  the  body.  4.  To  carry  away  from  the  skin  on 
the  surface  of  the  body,  by  means  of  sweat  or  perspiration, 
impurities  and  extra  heat  that  may  arise  from  food  or  exercise, 
thus  keeping  the  temperature  of  the  body  at  a  healthy  point. 

Pure  Water. — The  water  we  drink,  as  we  find  it  in  nature, 
always  contains  more  or  less  mineral  matter,  some  gases,  and 
occasionally  some  vegetable  matter,  and  even  small  animal 
organisms.  Absolutely  pure  water  is  not  found  in  nature.  It 
can  only  be  made  absolutely  pure  by  distilling  it.  But  dis- 
tilled water  is  unpleasant  to  the  taste,  being  flat  and  insipid. 
When  the  mineral  matter,  such  as  lime,  soda,  potash,  or  even 
sulphur  is  not  in  excess,  it  is  useful  to  the  system.  We  know 
lime  is  important  in  the  formation  of  the  teeth  and  bones; 
therefore  water  containing  a  small  amount  of  lime  benefits  the 
body,  especially  when  it  is  growing.  Water  sparkles  because 
of  the  gases  contained.  Water  containing  no  air  or  gas  tastes 
unpleasantly  flat.  Some  substances  found  in  water  are  harm- 
less and  even  beneficial.  Other  substances  you  will  find  are 
harmful  and  dangerous  to  health.  You  can  plainly  see  that  it 
is  just  as  necessary  for  our  health  that  our  drink  should  be 
pure  as  that  our  food  should  be  pure.  People  should  never 
drink  water  that  is  taken  from  a  well  located  near  a  slop-hole, 
cesspool,  manure-soaked  barn-yard,  or  other  filthy  place. 

Impure  Water. — It  is  a  great  mistake  for  people  to  think 
that  water  gotten  from  any  kind  of  a  well  is  good  for  drinking 
purposes.  Many  people  are  not  careful  as  to  the  location  of 
the  well,  often  digging  it  in  some  low  place  where  they  can  get 
water  most  easily.  When  located  in  a  low  place,  impure  sur- 
face water  draining  off  the  soil  will  often  flow  or  seep  into  the 


48 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


well,  thus  making  its  water  impure.  No  mistake  can  be  more 
serious,  if  we  value  our  health,  than  to  locate  a  well  in  a  poor 
place.  A  well  to  supply  drinking  water  should  not  be  located 
near  a  barn,  and  should  be  at  least  fifty,  and  better  still,  a  hun- 


FIGURE  8.— Showing  how  water  may  become  impure  in  badly  located 
wells,  from  surface  drainage. 


dred  feet  from  any  cesspool,  drain,  or  other  place  where  slops 
and  refuse  are  thrown.  It  is  also  best  that  the  well  should 
not  be  in  the  house.  We  must  remember  that  germs  of  disease 
may  be  carried  through  the  soil  for  quite  a  distance,  especially 
if  there  is  a  stratum  of  rock  sloping  toward  the  well.  Wells 


OUR  DRINK.  49 

dug  in  gravelly  soil  are  often  better  than  those  that  are  sunk 
into  rock,  for  impurities  may  be  carried  a  long  way  through  the 
cracks  or  crevices  between  layers  of  rock.  As  a  rule,  water 
from  deep  wells  is  purer  than  water  from  shallow  wells. 
Driven  wells  are  the  best.  They  are  made  by  driving  iron 
pipes  into  the  ground,  until  they  pass  a  layer  of  rock  or  stratum 
of  clay,  commonly  called  "hard  pan."  Water  reached  under 
such  a  stratum  of  rock  or  clay  is  not  so  apt  to  be  impure  as 
that  found  nearer  the  surface,  which  may  be  made  impure  by 
drainage  and  seepage. 

Disease  Germs  in  Water. — Sometimes  upon  examining 
drinking  water  under  the  microscope,  or  analyzing  it  by  the 
methods  of  chemistry,  we  discover  that  it  contains  decaying 
animal  or  vegetable  matter,  and  also  little  animals  so  small  as 
not  to  be  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  These  dangerous  little 
animals  are  called  germs.  Though  they  are  the  smallest  forms 
of  life  known  to  exist,  they  are  the  most  dangerous  enemies 
known  to  life  and  health.  Why  are  these  minute  animals  so 
dangerous?  1.  They  are  very  industrious  little  fellows,  and 
their  chief  business  is  to  manufacture  poisons  of  a  very  deadly 
character.  2.  They  increase  in  numbers  with  great  rapidity. 
Some  kinds  of  these  germs  develop  so  rapidly  as  to  double  in 
number  every  fifteen  minutes.  Think,  then,  of  the  immense 
number  that  might  develop  at  this  rate  from  a  single  germ  in 
twenty-four  hours.  They  are  also  tough  little  fellows.  Some 
of  them  cannot  be  killed  by  extreme  cold.  If  water  containing 
them  is  frozen  into  ice,  many  of  them  will  stay  there  for 
months,  and  then  when  the  ice  melts,  and  they  are  thrown 
out  again,  become  active  poison  makers.  They  can,  however, 
4 


50 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


be  killed  by  boiling  the  water  containing  them.  Typhoid 
fever,  diphtheria,  yellow  fever,  and  cholera  are  the  most  deadly 
of  the  common  diseases,  that  may  be  "caught"  by  the  presence 
of  germs  in  water. 


FIGURE  9.— Organisms  found  in  impure  water  (highly  magnified) . 

Impure  drinking  water  thus  causes  a  great  amount  of  sick- 
ness. Investigations  by  the  boards  of  health  in  many  states 
and  cities  show  that  thousands  of  deaths  occur  every  year 
because  of  impure  water  supply.  The  disease  germs  in  the 
water  supply  of  an  army  often  cause  many  more  deaths  than 
the  bullets  in  battle.  To  escape  typhoid  fever  and  similar 
deadly  diseases  we  must  be  certain  that  our  drinking  water  is 


OUR   DRINK.  51 

free  from  every  kind  of  filth.  In  one  of  our  large  cities 
recently,  hundreds  of  people  died  from  typhoid  fever,  which 
was  found  to  have  been  spread  by  milk  cans  having  been 
washed  in  impure  water  containing  these  disease  germs. 

To  Purify  Water — The  only  way  to  purify  water  contain- 
ing germs  is  by  boiling.  This  is  especially  necessary  in  large 
towns  and  cities  where  it  is  sometimes  quite  difficult  to  secure 
good,  pure  drinking  water.  Filters  strain  some  of  the  impuri- 
ties out  of  the  water,  and  by  their  use  muddy  water  may  be 
made  to  look  quite  clear.  But  no  filter  is  fine  enough  to  strain 
out  the  little  disease  germs.  No  filter  is  germ  proof.  Boiling 
is  the  only  safe  method  of  purifying  water. 

Mineral  Waters. — When  much  mineral  matter  is  present, 
the  water  is  called  mineral  water.  Many  such  waters  are 
found  in  various  springs  over  our  country,  and  some  of  them 
are  excellent  in  healing  certain  diseases.  The  chief  mineral 
substances  found  in  them  are  lime,  soda,  lithium,  iron,  potash, 
sulphur,  and  salt.  •  Some  of  them  contain  so  much  pure  salt 
that  they  furnish  much  of  the  salt  we  use  in  cooking  and  on  our 
tables.  Can  you  tell  the  difference  between  hard  and  soft  water  ? 

Lead  and  Zinc  Poisoning — There  is  good  ground  for  the 
objections  we  hear  against  lead  pipes  for  the  carrying  of  drink- 
ing water.  The  small  amount  of  mineral  matter  in  the  water 
may  attack  the  lead  and  thus  form  a  deadly  poison.  The  dan- 
ger increases  the  longer  the  water  is  permitted  to  stand  in  the 
lead  pipe.  In  using  water  from  lead  pipes,  it  is  best  to  allow 
the  water  to  run  or  be  pumped  long  enough  for  all  that  has 
been  standing  in  the  pipe  to  run  out,  and  fresh  water  to  enter 
from  the  well  or  water-main, 


52  GKADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

Water  as  a  Beverage — -Pure  water  is  the  best  beverage  a 
person  can  use.  Persons  with  stomachs  too  weak  to  bear  tea 
or  coffee  are  greatly  benefited  by  drinking  a  cup  of  hot  water 
instead  of  these  beverages.  Beverages  other  than  water  are 
good  just  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  water  they  contain, 
and  the  harmlessness  of  the  other  substances  'found  in  them. 
Pure  lemonade,  made  of  lemon  juice,  sugar,  and  water,  is  a 
wholesome  drink,  but  the  red  lemonade  of  the  circus,  and  the 
bright-colored  "soda-pop,"  often  contain  harmful  coloring  matter 
and  injurious  acids  that  are  used  in  place  of  lemon  juice  just 
because  they  are  cheap.  Thus  drinks  may  be  adulterated  in 
much  the  same  way  that  foods  are. 

It  is  not  wise  to  drink  too  much  water  with  our  meals,  for 
in  so  doing  we  are  apt  to  weaken  the  digestive  juices  to  such 
an  extent  that  our  food  will  not  be  properly  treated  in  the 
mouth,  stomach,  and  intestines.  Stomach  and  bowel  troubles 
may  result  from  this  cause. 

It  is  also  harmful  to  the  stomach  to  put*  ice-cold  water  into 
it,  thus  chilling  it  so  it  will  be  unable  to  do  its  work  perfectly. 

Tea  and  Coffee. — These  are  often  used  in  place  of  water, 
chiefly  for  the  sake  of  variety.  Tea  and  coffee  contain  no 
food.  They  act  in  a  peculiar  way  as  a  sort  of  whip  to  the 
body.  They  are  stimulating.  A  substance  that  causes  the 
body  to  do  more  work  without  giving  to  it  any  extra  energy 
or  weight  is  called  a  stimulant.  When  you  come  to  study 
Latin  you  will  find  that  stimulus  is  the  Latin  name  for  an  ox 
whip.  It  is  wrong  to  whip  the  body  into  attempting  to  do 
things  beyond  its  strength,  just  as  it  is  wrong  to  try  to  whip  a 
horse  into  pulling  a  load  much  too  heavy  for  it.  Tea  and  cof- 


OUR   DRINK.  53 

fee  act  upon  the  mind  in  such  a  way  that  the  tired  condition 
of  the  body  is  not  felt.  They  do  not  increase  the  strength  of 
the  body,  but  simply  deaden  the  tired  feelings.  They  are 
injurious  to  boys  and  girls,  for  they  retard  growth,  and  the 
nervous  system  of  the  young  person  is  more  readily  harmed 
by  a  stimulant  than  that  of  an  older  person. 

If  not  taken  in  too  great  quantities,  or  made  so  as  to  be 
too  strong,  tea  and  coffee  are  not  harmful  to  a  healthy  person 
over  fifteen  years  of  age.  When  long  and  hard  work  must  be 
done,  or  when  a  person  must  endure  great  exposure,  then  tea 
and  coffee  are  valuable  stimulants.  Thus  Nansen  and  other 
Arctic  explorers,  as  well  as  soldiers  on  long,  forced  marches, 
have  found  them  necessary. 

Adulteration  of  Tea  and  Coffee — The  leaves  of  various 
other  plants  are  added  to  tea  leaves  and  then  dried.  The 
"green"  teas  are  often  colored  with  copper,  making  them 
injurious.  Chicory  is  raised  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  adul- 
terating coffee.  The  root  is  roasted  and  ground,  and  it  is  found 
in  almost  all  the  cheaper  grades  of  coffee. 

Beer,  ale,  wine,  cider,  gin,  Irandy,  and  whiskey  all  contain 
alcohol,  and  are  therefore  harmful.  They  can  never  take  the 
place  of  water  as  a  beverage  because  of  their  injurious  effects 
upon  the  bodily  organs.  All  alcoholic  drinks  produce  a  feverish 
condition  and  create  a  demand  for  more  water  than  the  system 
naturally  requires.  They  increase  rather  than  quench  thirst. 
The  poisonous  nature  of  alcohol  is  fully  discussed  in  subsequent 
chapters. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TEMPERANCE. 

There  are  certain  unmistakable  laws  of  right  living  clearly 
impressed  upon  the  constitution  of  man.  If  he  should  live 
according  to  these  laws  he  would  always  be  strong  and  healthy. 
By  this  time  you  have  learned  that  the  vigor  and  health  of 
many  persons  are  seriously  impaired  by  neglect.  Failure  to  eat 
nourishing  food,  to  breathe  pure  air,  to  keep  the  body  clean, 
and  to  exercise,  are  frequent  causes  of  physical  weakness  and 
disease.  There  are  people  whose  lives  are  really  shortened 
because  they  have  failed  to  spend  a  few  minutes  a  day  in 
regular  judicious  exercise.  Lack  of  anything  the  body  needs 
for  healthy  growth  always  works  injuriously. 

While  there  are  many  persons  whose  health  has  been  seri- 
ously impaired  because  of  the  lack  of  those  things  so  essential 
to  bodily  vigor,  there  are  many  more  who  have  brought  lasting 
injury  upon  themselves  by  excesses  in  one  or  more  directions. 

Temperance. — Improper  eating  and  improper  drinking  pro- 
duce more  sickness  than  all  other  causes.  It  seems  all  the  more 
strange  that  man  of  all  animals  should  be  the  one  to  indulge  in 
excesses  of  appetite,  when  he  possesses  the  most  knowledge 
concerning  the  ill-effects  of  such  indulgences.  Man  is  sur- 
rounded by  an  abundance  of  wholesome  food,  yet  he  often 
makes  himself  sick  by  excesses  in  eating  and  drinking,  acting 
as  though  he  would  never  again  have  an  opportunity  to  partake 

54 


TEMPERANCE.  55 

of  food  and  drink.  Such  men  live  to  eat,  rather  than  eat 
to  live. 

A  horse  will  never  drink  merely  for  the  sake  of  sociability, 
and  a  squirrel  with  a  house  made  of  acorns  will  eat  just  enough 
for  his  needs,  but  some  men  eat  all  kinds  of  foods  and  drink 
disagreeable  concoctions  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  eating  and 
drinking.  Temperance  is  the  exercise  of  moderation  in  regard 
to  all  our  appetites.  Intemperance  is  the  gratification  of  any 
appetite  or  inclination  which  does  not  fulfill  bodily  need. 

Intemperance  in  Eating. — This  is  one  of  the  most  common 
forms  of  intemperance.  Eating  injudiciously  never  fails  to 
cause  bodily  derangement  of  some  sort.  The  injuries  of  over- 
eating are  shared  by  all  parts  of  the  body — brain,  nerve,  bone, 
muscle,  stomach,  liver — none  are  exempt  from  the  harmful 
effects.  A  child  who  habitually  makes  a  meal  consisting  of 
sweet  cake,  is  intemperate,  and  he  afterwards  pays  dearly  for 
such  indulgence.  Not  only  will  he  suffer  pain,  but  his  organs 
of  digestion  become  deranged  and  incapable  of  doing  their  best 
work,  and  for  years  he  suffers  because  of  his  folly.  Sometimes 
when  sufficient  plain  food  has  been  taken  at  a  meal  to  satisfy 
the  appetite,  a  man  will  take  something  to  give  him  a  new  but 
false  appetite,  or  will  partake  of  some  rich  dessert,  highly  spiced 
and  sweetened,  which  he  eats  merely  for  the  pleasant  taste,  and 
not  because  it  contains  necessary  food  elements.  A  perverted 
appetite  frequently  leads  us  to  eat  cake,  candy,  and  fruits 
between  meals,  thus  overworking  the  stomach  by  giving  it  no 
opportunity  to  rest.  If  we  are  hungry  enough  to  eat  bread  or 
meat  between  meals,  then  the  appetite  should  be  satisfied,  for 


56  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

this  is  a  call  from  the  cells  of  the  body  for  food,  rather  than 
from  the  palate  for  agreeable  taste  sensations. 

The  Alcohol  Habit.— The  use  of  drinks  that  contain  alcohol 
is  the  worst  kind  of  intemperance.  This  form  of  intemperance 
is  a  terrible  curse  in  America.  It  tends  to  destroy  the  work 
that  the  school  strives  to  build  up.  The  American  school  has 
for  its  object  such  education  of  children  as  will  lead  them  to 
become  good  citizens. 

Because  alcohol  enters  the  body  by  means  of  the  digestive 
tube,  in  the  same  way  in  which  food  does,  rather  than  that  it 
is  of  itself  a  food,  it  is  here  treated  as  naturally  following  the 
discussion  of  proper  food  and  drink  for  the  human  body.  If 
we  eat  a  sufficient  amount  of  wholesome  food  to-day,  we  do  not 
require  a  larger  amount  of  the  same  food  to-rnorrow.  Not  so 
with  alcohol ;  the  appetite  for  it  grows  with  the  using. 

Is  Alcohol  a  Food  ? — You  recall  that  food  is  any  substance 
which,  when  taken  into  our  bodies,  will  produce  heat,  weight, 
or  strength.  Has  alcohol  any  of  these  qualities  which  must  be 
possessed  in  order  to  class  a  substance  as  food  ?  Are  its  effects 
neither  beneficial  nor  harmful,  or  is  it  injurious  to  the  human 
body  ?  We  will  proceed  to  answer  these  questions. 

Does  Alcohol  Produce  Bodily  Heat? — It  is  often  claimed 
for  alcoholic  drinks  that  they  possess  a  special  advantage  in  the 
readiness  with  which  they  are  able  to  produce  bodily  heat. 
This  is  an  error.  In  the  ordinary  forms  in  which  it  is  taken 
alcohol  lowers  the  temperature  of  the  body,  as  the  clinical 
thermometer  of  the  physician  plainly  reveals.  It  is  true  that  a 
drink  of  wine  or  whisky  sends  the  blood  to  the  skin.  This  is 
seen  in  the  flushed  face.  The  sending  the  blood  to  the  skin 
gives  a  sensation  of  heat.  We  fed  warmer.  We  are  deceived, 


TEMPERANCE.  57 

for  we  are  actually  cooler.  The  more  blood  there  is  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  body,  the  more  quickly  is  its  temperature  lowered. 
Alcohol  does  not  create  bodily  heat. 

Does  Alcohol  Increase  Tissue  ? — Alcohol  unites  so  readily 
with  water  that  it  tends  to  extract  the  fluids  of  the  body  from 
the  healthy  tissues,  and  in  this  way  it  attacks  and  destroys 
them.  Scientists  seem  to  agree  that  alcohol  is  a  tissue 
destroyer  and  not  a  tissue  builder. 

Does  Alcohol  Create  Energy  ? — This  is  a  question  that  has 
provoked  much  discussion.  Kenowned  physicians  tell  us  there 
are  some  diseases  in  which  the  temporary  use  of  alcohol  is  of 
service  in  the  effort  to  prolong  the  life  of  the  patient.  Thus  it 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  in  certain  limited  quantities  it  is 
a  force-producer.  But  so  is  strychnine.  Probably  no  drug  is 
more  favorably  regarded  by  the  modern  physician  as  an  efficient 
heart  tonic  than  strychnine  in  very  small  doses.  The  situation 
is  practically  the  same  with  respect  to  alcohol.  „  In  certain  very 
small  quantities,  and  under  definite  conditions  of  experiment,  it 
will  act  for  a  limited  time  as  a  force-producer.  Whether  this  is 
sufficient  to  class  alcohol  as  a  food  is  a  question  that  can  be 
best  answered  when  we  consider  the  harmful  effects  of  alcohol, 
which,  we  think,  more  than  offset  the  one  reason  for  regarding 
it  as  a  food.  Alcohol  is  not  economic  food,  not  necessary  food, 
not  tissue-forming  food ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  seems  on  being 
decomposed  within  the  body  to  yield  up  some  energy.  But,  if 
in  yielding  up  this  energy  certain  processes  are  set  in  motion 
that  cause  a  cheapening  of  the  individual  physically,  mentally, 
or  morally,  they  should  be  called  unTiealthful  foods  rather  than 
healthful  foods,  if  the  word  "  food"  is  to  be  used  at  all.  Even 
those  who  apply  to  alcohol  the  term  "food,"  in  the  technical 


58  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

sense  that  it  is  a  force-producer,  do  not  advise  its  use.  Pro- 
fessor Atwater,  who  has  recently  demonstrated  anew  this  force- 
producing  quality  of  alcohol,  says;  "  I  myself  believe  that  the 
more  advisable  course  is  habitual  abstinence." 

Alcohol  is  Poisonous — Alcohol  tends  to  destroy  tissue, 
derange  bodily  functions,  and  cause  the  brain  to  act  dishonestly. 
While  technically  it  may  be  called  a  food,  practically  it  is  a 
poison,  and  there  is  always  danger  in  its  use.  Being  a  dangerous 
drug,  it  should  only  be  used  when  prescribed  by  a  physician. 
More  hard  work  can  be  done  without  alcohol  than  with  it. 

Alcohol  and  Physical  Training. — That  alcohol  is  harmful 
and  not  beneficial  is  shown  in  the  very  strict  rules  laid  down 
by  athletic  trainers.  No  person,  in  training  for  athletic  events 
under  the  direction  of  a  competent  instructor,  is  permitted  to  par- 
take of  any  alcoholic  beverage.  The  trained  athlete  requires 
nutritious  foods,  and  experience  in  physical  training  has  shown 
that  alcohol  retards  rather  than  assists  his  muscular  develop- 
ment, and  interferes  with  quick  and  reliable  action  of  the 
nerves,  fibers,  and  cells. 

Physical  Effects  of  Alcohol — The  precise  effects  of  alcohol 
upon  the  body  have  not  been  fully  determined,  but  enough  is 
known  to  justify  the  statement  that  its  effects  on  the  whole 
are  bad.  There  are  certain  diseases  directly  traceable  to  the 
use  of  alcohol.  If  the  individual  does  not  partake  of  alcohol 
he  escapes  these  diseases.  They  include  a  fatal  form  of  disease 
of  the  liver  and  kidneys,  as  well  as  chronic  indigestion,  disease 
of  the  eyes  and  of  the  arteries.  The  best  authorities  say  that 
there  is  not  a  single  kind  of  nervous  disease  known  that  can- 
not be  caused  by  alcoholic  excesses. 


TEMPERANCE.  59 

The  Mental  Effects — The  fact  that  the  habitual  use  of 
alcohol  causes  so  much  insanity  is  an  indication  of  the  disturb- 
ing effect  that  it  has  on  the  mental  processes.  Alcohol 
materially  affects  the  rapidity  and  accuracy  of  thought.  It 
makes  one  inaccurate,  incapable  of  steady  application,  and 
tends  to  make  the  mind  act  more  slowly.  After  the  so-called 
stimulating  effects  of  alcohol  have  passed  away,  there  is  always 
a  marked  reaction  causing  mental  depression.  This  paves  the 
way  for  irritability,  which  is  next  door  to  loss  of  self-control. 
The  use  of  alcohol,  as  will  naturally  be  inferred  from  our 
discussion  of  habit,  gradually  tends  to  weaken  a  person's 
will. 

Alcohol  as  a  Stimulant — Most  authorities  admit  that  for 
a  very  brief  period  alcohol  may  act  as  a  stimulant,  and  spur  one 
to  greater  activity.  Stimulus  means  "  whip."  However,  after 
the  burst  of  energy  there  is  a  rebound ;  the  pendulum  swings 
to  the  other  extreme,  and  there  is  less  than  the  usual  capacity 
for  work.  Does  the  healthy  body  need  such  a  whip  ? 

The  Answer — The  use  of  alcohol  in  any  form  is  wholly 
unnecessary  for  the  use  of  the  human  body  in  health.  Think 
of  the  joy  of  possessing  a  good  body  well  built  by  the  use  of 
good  food  and  pure  water,  and  well  knit  and  well  proportioned 
by  judicious  and  regular  exercise.  Strive  to  treat  your  body  so 
that  it  will  be  found  rich  in  clean,  pure  blood;  possess  nerves 
that  are  steady  and  honest  in  their  action,  a  brain  as  clear  as  a 
bell,  and  a  mind  that  is  quick  and  accurate  in  its  operations. 
To  accomplish  all  these  you  need  no  other  stimulant  than  pure 
air,  proper  exercise,  wholesome  food,  and  the  invigorating  sun- 
shine. By  the  use  of  alcohol,  you  run  the  risk  of  losing  one  or 


60  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

more  of  these  priceless  qualities  so  essential  to  happy,  useful 
lives.  The  use  of  alcohol  in  any  form  tends  to  remove  one 
from  a  position  of  security  to  the.*  border-line  of  danger.  He 
may  cross  the  line  without  effort  on  his  part,  or  even  in  spite 
of  his  best  effort,  and  become  more  of  a  slave  than  a  master. 
When  once  the  habit  of  using  alcoholic  drinks  is  formed,  and 
there  is  an  awakening  of  the  individual  to  his  condition,  he  may 
battle  royally,  earnestly,  perseveringly,  and  desperately,  but  the 
chances  are  against  his  success.  It  is  safe  to  predict  that 
usually  drink  will  win  the  struggle,  deplorable  and  unwelcome 
as  such  a  fact  is. 

If  there  is  no  need  of  alcohol  in  any  form  for  the  healthy 
body,  then  why  should  any  one  begin  its  use  when  there  is  so 
much  risk  and  so  much  danger  involved  ? 

Tobacco  Intemperance. — Tobacco  is  especially  injurious  to 
the  young.  It  stunts  growth,  weakens  the  nerves,  stupefies  the 
brain  cells,  interferes  with  digestion,  and  in  many  ways  coun- 
teracts the  benefit  of  good  food,  besides  diminishing  the  nat- 
ural appetite.  It  contains  nicotine,  and  this  is  a  violent  poison. 
Tobacco  is  a  frequent  cause  of  weak  eyes,  is  apt  to  irritate  the 
linings  of  the  mouth  and  throat,  and  in  many  cases  seriously 
affects  the  heart. 

The  effects  of  tobacco  on  the  individual  after  he  has  com- 
pleted his  growth  and  is  over  thirty  years  of  age  depends  on 
the  amount  used  and  on  the  temperament  of  the  person  using 
it.  The  tendency,  however,  i$  always  toward  injury.  The  safe 
rule  is  never  to  use  it.  Men  never  express  regret  for  not  having 
formed  this  needless  habit.  Tobacco  intemperance  is  always 
injurious  to  the  body  at  any  age.  It  is  an  expensive  habit, 


TEMPERANCE.  61 

a  man  is  just  as  well  off  without  it,  and  the  growing  boy  always 
suffers  from  its  use. 

Effect  of  Tobacco  on  the  Young — From  measurements  of 
187  students  of  the  class  of  1891,  at  Yale  University,  it  was 
found  that  the  non-smokers  gained  in  weight  during  the  college 
course  10.4  per  cent  more  than  the  regular  smokers,  and  6.6 
per  cent  more  than  the  occasional  smokers.  In  height  the 
non-users  of  tobacco  increased  24  per  cent  more  than  the 
regular  users,  and  12  per  cent  more  than  the  occasional.  In 
increase  of  chest  girth  the  non-users  had  an  advantage  of  26.7 
per  cent  and  22  per  cent,  and  an  increase  of  lung  capacity  of 
77.5  per  cent  and  49  per  cent,  respectively.  These  observa- 
tions with  respect  to  the  dwarfing  effects  of  tobacco  are  borne 
out  by  similar  ones  on  the  class  of  1891,  Amherst  College, 
made  by  Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock.  He  found  that  in  weight 
non-smokers  increased  during  their  course  24  per  cent  more 
than  the  smokers ;  in  increase  in  height  they  surpassed  them 
37  per  cent;  in  gain  of  chest  42  per  cent,  and  in  gain  of  lung 
capacity  75  per  cent.  Again,  in  France,  the  difference  between 
the  students  in  the  polytechnic  schools  who  smoked  and  those 
who  did  not,  in  scholarship,  as  shown  by  their  respective  class 
standings,  was  so  great  that  the  government  prohibited  abso- 
lutely the  use  of  tobacco  in  all  government  schools. 

The  employers  of  labor  in  many  of  the  large  railroad  offices 
and  business  houses  refuse  to  hire  boys  who  use  tobacco.  The 
head  of  one  of  the  largest  wholesale  dry  goods  houses  in  the 
world  recently  stated  his  reasons  as  follows: 

"The  use  of  tobacco  has  a  peculiarly  demoralizing  effect 
oil  the  moral  nature  of  the  young.  In  addition  to  making 


62  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

boys  tired,  stupid,  and  lazy,  it  makes  them  irritate,  perverse, 
careless  of  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others,  besides,  in  many 
instances,  leading  to  lying  and  even,  stealing." 

Such  facts  as  these  certainly  indicate  very  clearly  why  a 
boy  should  not  use  tobacco  in  any  form. 

The  Cigarette  Evil — The  bad  effects  of  tobacco  on  the 
young  are  even  worse  when  used  by  them  in  the  form  of  cigar- 
ettes. Many  cigarettes  are  drugged  with  opium,  and  the  enam- 
eled paper  is  usually  made  by  a  process  involving  the  use  of 
poisons.  The  effect  of  cigarette  smoking  on  boys  is  clearly 
shown  in  the  following  quotation  from  a  statement  communi- 
cated to  me  by  the  principal  of  one  of  the  Chicago  schools,* 
after  careful  investigation  of  the  influence  of  this  pernicious 
habit  on  school  work. 

"  It  is  only  within  the  last  five  or  six  years  that  the  habit  of 
cigarette  smoking  has  made  its  appearance  among  the  boys  of 
the  public  schools  of  Chicago,  but  during  that  brief  period  it 
has  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  several  thousand  have 
become  addicted  to  the  habit,  and  the  majority  of  these  boys 
are  so  affected  mentally  and  physically  that  they  are  unable  to 
make  further  progress  in  their  studies. 

"As  to  my  personal  knowledge  of  the  effects  of  this  habit  on 
schoolboys.  I  have  carefully  observed  them  for  the  last  three 
years,  during  which  period  at  least  125  boys  addicted  to  this 
habit  have  been  at  one  time  or  another  under  my  charge. 
These  boys  smoked  from  two  to  twenty  cigarettes  a  day,  and 
not  more  than  ten  of  them  were  able  to  keep  pace  with  their 
class;  yet  nine-tenths  belong  to  educated  and  intelligent  fami- 

*Mary  Darrow  Olson,  Principal  McCosh  School,  Chicago. 


TEMPERANCE.  63 

lies.  Among  these  125  boys  were  found  nearly  all  of  those 
pupils  who  were  from  two  to  five  years  older  than  the  average 
age  of  children  for  the  grade,  as  well  as  ninety  per  cent  of  those 
boys  hard  to  discipline,  and  all  of  those  who  were  in  the  habit 
of  playing  truant. 

"An  Anti-Tobacco  Society  was  organized,  which  most  of  the 
boys  joined.  From  frank  and  friendly  conversations  with 
them  many  of  their  temptations  and  difficulties  were  made 
clear.  Twenty-four  stated  that  the  reason  they  failed  to  learn 
their  lessons  was  because  most  of  the  time  they  were  too  sleepy 
to  study;  thirty  said  they  were  always  dizzy  after  smoking, 
and  did  not  feel  like  thinking;  twenty-two  could  not  write 
neatly  because  their  hands  trembled ;  several,  to  use  their  own 
words,  felt  shaky  when  they  walked.  A  large  number  were 
unable  to  run  any  distance,  some  not  more  than  a  block, 
although  before  they  began  to  smoke  they  could  run  as  far  and 
as  fast  as  any  one.  Nearly  all  told  me  they  had  headaches 
constantly.  With  scarcely  an  exception  they  stated  that  they 
were  unable  to  learn  their  lessons,  though  kept  night  after 
night  for  that  purpose. 

"From  88  schools  2,402  pupils  were  reported  as  addicted  to 
the  cigarette  habit,  and  only  six  per  cent  of  these  were  able 
to  do  the  school  work  of  their  grade.  As  there  are  235 
schools  in  Chicago,  and  as  88  of  them  report  2,400  cigarette 
smokers,  it  is  safe,  in  making  a  conservative  estimate,  to  say 
that  there  are  5,000  cigarette  smokers  in  the  Chicago  schools, 
not  more  than  400  of  whom  are  able  to  advance  with  their 
class." 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE    SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS. 

We  will  now  talk  about  the  way  in  which  the  body  gets 
rid  of  some  of  the  waste  materials.  The  skin  and  the  kidneys 
together,  acting  in  much  the  same  way,  constitute  a  very  large 
part  of  the  sewer  system  of  the  body.  They  do  much  in  get- 
ting rid  of  the  waste  products  that  would  be  injurious  for  the 
body  to  retain.  Let  us  first  study  the  structure  of  the  skin. 

The  Skin. — The  skin  is  the  soft,  satin-like  covering  of  the 
body  that  fits  it  like  a  smooth  glove  or  closely  fitting  garment. 
It  is  so  elastic  that  it  is  never  too  large  or  too  small.  If  you 
take  up  a  little  fold  of  the  skin  you  will  notice  that  it  can  be 
stretched  like  a  sheet  of  india-rubber.  Like  rubber,  when  you 
let  go,  the  skin  quickly  contracts  and  appears  as  before.  At 
the  openings  of  the  body,  such  as  the  mouth,  ears,  and  eye- 
sockets,  the  skin  is  so  closely  united  with  the  lining  membrane 
of  these  cavities,  as  to  be  continuous  with  it.  You  can  hardly 
tell,  as  you  examine  your  lips,  where  the  outside  skin  leaves  off 
and  the  lining  skin  begins. 

Two  Skins. — Perhaps  you  are  not  aware  that  you  have 
two  skins,  or  rather  two  layers  of  skin.  There  is  an  outer  one, 
called  the  scarf  skin,  and  directly  beneath  it  the  true  skin. 
The  scarf  skin,  or  outer  layer,  is  called  the  cuticle  or  epidermis. 
The  inner  layer,  or  true  skin,  is  called  the  dermis.  Did  you 

64 


THE   SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS.  65 

ever  peel  the  bark  off  a  young  tree,  or  attempt  to  make  a 
whistle  from  a  piece  of  a  branch  or  twig?  If  so,  and  you 
have  closely  watched,  you  have  noticed  that  there  are  really 
two  barks — an  outer  bark,  almost  as  thin  as  paper  in  young 
trees,  but  very  thick  and  rough  in  older  ones,  and  an  inner 
bark  that  fits  tightly  against  the  wood  of  the  tree  and  its 
branches.  You  know  that  a  good  deal  of  the  outer  bark  can 
be  peeled  off  without  doing  the  tree  much  harm.  If  you  strip 
off  any  of  the  inner  bark  you  are  apt  to  do  the  tree  much 
injury,  for  you  thus  make  the  tree  bleed  by  causing  its  sap  to 
run.  Sap  is  the  blood  of  the  tree,  and  the  bark  is  the  skin. 
If  the  tree  lives,  and  the  bare  place  heals  over,  an  ugly  scar  is 
formed. 

The  Scarf  Skin  or  Epidermis. — Our  bodies  are  very  much 
like  trees,  in  that  they  also  have  two  skins.  You  can  run  a  pin 
through  the  thin  outer  layer,  or  scarf  skin,  without  causing 
pain,  because  it  has  no  blood  or  nerves.  It  is  this  outer  skin 
that  puffs  up  when  we  have  a  blister  caused  by  rubbing  or 
burning.  This  puffed-up  blister  is  filled  with  a  water-like  fluid, 
called  serum,  from  the  blood  of  the  true  skin  or  dermis  being 
poured  in  between  the  two  layers  of  skin.  If  you  open  the 
blister  with  a  needle,  the  water  runs  out.  If  you  now  remove 
the  little  patch  of  scarf  skin  and  examine  it,  you  will  find  that 
it  is  very  thin  and  much  like  the  skin  that  lines  the  inside  of 
an  egg-shell.  The  outer  skin  protects  the  inner  skin,  and  yet  it 
is  so  thin  that  the  nerves  in  the  latter  can  feel  through  it.  In 
some  parts  of  the  body,  as  the  palms  of  the  hands  and  the  soles 
of  the  feet,  it  is  thicker,  because  of  the  greater  protection 
needed  at  these  places  by  the  true  skin. 
5 


66  GRADED   LESSONS   IN    HYGIENE. 

The  Pigment. — The  under  side  of  the  scarf  skin  is  colored 
by  little  particles  of  coloring  matter,  called  pigment.  In  differ- 
ent races  this  coloring  matter  differs  in  kind  and  amount.  In 
white  persons  there  is  very  littfe  pigment  present,  while  in 
albinos  there  is  none  at  all.  In  Indians  the  pigment  is  of  a 
reddish  copper  color,  while  in  negroes  it  is  black.  In  some 
races  the  pigment  is  yellowish,  while  in  others  it  is  brown. 
Freckles  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  pigment  is  not  evenly 
spread  out  on  the  under  surface  of  the  scarf  skin,  but  is  in 
patches. 

The  Dermis  or  True  Skin — The  inner  skin  is  filled  with 
blood  vessels  and  nerves.  It  is  more  important  than  the  scarf 
skin.  For  this  reason  it  is  called  the  true  skin.  It  is  thicker 
than  the  outer  skin,  just  as  the  inner  bark  of  a  young  tree  is 
thicker  than  the  outer  bark.  It  is  impossible  to  prick  the  inner 
skin  with  a  needle  without  causing  pain  or  drops  of  blood  to 
appear.  There  are  little  thread-like  muscles  within  the  skin 
that  cause  it  to  contract,  giving  the  appearance  of  "goose-flesh," 
or  "goose-pimples,"  when  we  are  suddenly  chilled.  Some  of 
these  muscles  are  attached  to  the  hairs  in  such  a  way  that  they 
can  make  the  shorter  hairs  stand  up  straight,  as  is  sometimes 
done  when  one  is  badly  frightened.  You  have  seen  this  done 
in  the  case  of  a  short-haired  dog  when  he  is  cross,  or  the  fright- 
ened cat  he  is  chasing.  In  the  deeper  portions  of  the  skin  are 
two  kinds  of  sacs,  or  glands — the  sweat  glands  and  the  oil 
glands. 

The  Sweat  Glands — In  almost  all  parts  of  the  skin  are  to 
be  found  tiny  tubes  with  their  lower  ends  coiled  and  tied  into 
a  knot,  and  their  outer  ends  open  on  the  surface  of  the  scarf 


THE   SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS. 


67 


Epi- 
dermis 


skin,  or  epidermis.  If  you  look  at  the  palm  of  your  hand  you 
will  see  not  only  many  coarse  lines,  but  also  many  fine  ridges 
with  little  furrows  or  valleys  between  them.  If  you  examine 
each  of  these  little  ridges  with  a  magnifying  glass,  you  will  see 
a  number  of  little  dark  spots  arranged  along  each  ridge.  Each 
of  these  little  dark 

points  is  the  mouth  :  IHAIB 

of  one  of  the  very 
small  tubes  men- 
tioned above.  Each 
of  these  tubes  is 
called  a  sweat  duct. 
These  ducts,  or  tubes, 
run  down  through 
both  the  outer  and 
inner  layers  of  the 
skin, and  at  the  under 
side  you  will  see  the 
end  of  the  tube  rolled 
up  into  a  coil  or  ball, 
as  can  be  noticed  by 
looking  at  the  pic- 
ture of  a  highly  magnified  section  of  skin  on  this  page.  These 
coiled-up  ends  of  the  tubes  are  called  sweat  glands.  It  is  in 
these  little  glands  that  sweat,  or  perspiration,  is  made. 

The  Perspiration — Perspiration,  or  sweat,  is  being  given  off 
all  the  time,  and  it  usually  dries  as  fast  as  it  forms.  If  it  is 
warm  weather,  and  we  have  drunk  a  good  deal  of  water,  or  if 
we  have  been  heated  by  exercise,  we  find  that  the  sweat,  or 


Blood    

Tube 

FIGURE  10.— (Modified  from  Kolliker)  A  vertical  sec- 
tion of  the  Skin,  showing  the  two  layers,  the  glands, 
and  a  hair  shaft. 


68 


GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


perspiration,  is  given  off  in  larger  amounts,  so  that  it  collects 
in  drops  that  can  be  seen  on  the  forehead,  face,  and  other  por- 
tions of  the  skin.  If  you  wish  to  see  for  yourself  that  per- 
spiration is  leaving  the  skin  all  the  time,  you  can  easily  make 
an  experiment  that  will  prove  the  fact.  Take  a  small,  cool 
piece  of  ordinary  window  glass,  touch  it  to  the  skin  and  it  will 

soon  be  clouded  over 
with  moisture.  A  sim- 
ilar experiment  is  to 
place  your  hand  inside 
a  glass  fruit  jar  that  has 
been  cooled.  You  will 
soon  see  the  moisture 
gather  on  the  sides  of 
the  jar.  About  a  quart 
of  perspiration  is  pro- 
duced each  day,  and  in 
a  hot  day  much  more. 
These  pores,  or  open- 
ings of  the  sweat  ducts,  are  found  over  the  whole  surface  of 
the  skin.  There  are  nearly  three  millions  of  them  in  all,  mak- 
ing from  five  hundred  to  two  thousand  to  each  square  inch, 
according  to  the  part  of  the  body  examined.  The  total  surface 
of  the  skin  in  the  grown-up  person  of  average  age  is  seventeen 
and  one-half  square  feet. 

Necessity  of  Keeping  the  Pores  Open. — If  your  body  were 
covered  over  with  a  paste  or  varnish,  so  that  all  these  little 
pores  or  openings  of  the  sweat  ducts  were  closed,  you  would 
certainly  die.  An  animal  covered  thus  with  varnish  dies  in 


FIGURE  11.— A  portion  of  the  Skin  from  the 
palm  of  the  hand,  highly  magnified,  show- 
ing the  openings  of  the  pores. 


THE   SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS.  69 

about  eight  hours.  Nearly  four  hundred  years  ago,  one  evening 
at  a  play  in  one  of  the  courts  of  Europe,  a  boy  was  covered  over 
with  gilt  so  as  to  look  like  a  cherub.  In  a  few  hours  he  be- 
came very  sick,  and  died  before  morning,  in  spite  of  all  the 
doctors  could  do  for  him.  He  was  poisoned  because  the  per- 
spiration was  kept  in  his  body  instead  of  being  allowed  to 
escape  freely  as  nature  demands. 

A  Cold. — You  should  never  pull  off  your  coat  and  sit  down 
in  a  draught  of  air  to  cool  off  quickly.  This  suddenly  checks 
the  perspiration,  and  the  result  is  what  is  commonly  called  a 
cold.  A  cold  is  really  a  form  of  illness  resulting  from  the  sud- 
den closing  up  of  the  sweat  pores  of  the  skin,  thereby  prevent- 
ing the  waste  matter  from  flowing  out,  as  it  would  if  the  pores 
were  kept  open.  When  we  are  suffering  from  a  cold  we  take 
a  glass  of  hot  lemonade  or  similar  hot  drink,  and  cover  up 
warmly  in  bed  to  promote  perspiration.  In  this  manner,  by 
taking  a  "sweat,"  we  can  quickly  cure  a  cold.  To  perspire  is 
good;  to  perspire  freely  after  exercise  is  also  good;  but  to  sud- 
denly check  the  perspiration  by  allowing  the  body  to  cool  rap- 
idly is  always  harmful. 

Oil  Glands. — There  are  also  in  the  skin  many  little  oil 
glands,  that  are,  as  a  rule,  located  near  the  root  of  a  hair, 
and  they  empty  their  oil  into  a  little  sac  in  which  the  hair 
rests.  The  hair  takes  up  this  oil,  and  it  is  better  for  your  hair 
than  any  oil  the  barber  can  use.  If  the  skin  is  healthy,  this 
natural  oil  will  keep  the  hair  smooth  and  glossy.  A  stopped- 
up  oil  gland  will  produce  a  pimple;  stoppage  of  several  oil 
glands  at  one  time  will  cause  a  boil. 


70 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 


FIGURE  12.— The  root  of  a  human  Hair 
beneath  the  skin,  highly  magnified, 
showing  the  two  clusters  of  oil  glands. 


Hair. — There  are  many 
curious  little  pockets  in  the 
/skin,  and  from  each  of  these 
pockets  grows  a  hair.  In 
birds  these  little  pockets  are 
larger  than  in'  our  skin,  and 
from  them  grow  feathers  in- 
stead of  hair.  On  the  head 
the  hair  is  coarse  and  long. 
On  the  arms  and  back  of  the 
hand  it  is  softer  and  shorter. 
A  good  head  of  hair  keeps 
one  from. taking  cold.  Foot 
ball  players  do  not  usually 
wear  caps  while  playing  the 
game,  but  wear  their  hair 
unusually  long  instead.  Why 
is  this  done  ? 

The  average  number  of 
hairs  on  the  head  is  about 
120,000.  The  hair,  like  the 
color  of  the  skin,  differs  with 
different  races.  In  the  In- 
dian it  is  straight  and  black. 
What  kind  of  hair  has  the 
negro  ?  The  hairs  of  a  white 
person  are  not  perfectly 
round,  but  are  oval.  The 


hairs  of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  are  perfectly  round. 


THE   SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS. 


71 


The  hair  should  be  frequently  washed,  or  shampooed,  with 
good  soap  that  is  not  too  strong,  and  soft  water,  in  order  to 
keep  it  in  good  condition.  As  we  grow  old,  the  coloring  mat- 
ter is  no  longer  present  in  the  hair  sac,  and  as  a 
result  colorless  or  gray  hair  appears.  Hair  dyes 
for  coloring  the  hair  are  poisonous.  So  are  the 
solutions  used  to  bleach  the  hair. 

Nails. — The  nails  of  the  toes  and  fingers 
also  grow  out  of  little  pockets  in  the  skin,  very 
much  as  the  hairs  do.  Both  hairs  and  nails  are 
really  parts  of  the  outer  skin,  or  epidermis. 
The  nails  lie  for  the  most  part  upon  the  bare  sur- 
face of  the  true  skin.  The  tender  true  skin 
lying  under  the  nails  is  called  the  "  quick."  Do 
you  know  why  ? 

The  nails  are  made  to  give  firmness  and 
protection  to  the  fingers  and  toes.  The  nails  of 
the  fingers  are  of  great  service  in  picking  up 
small  objects,  in  untying  a  small  hard  knot,  and 
in  many  other  ways,  just  as  the  claws  of  a  bird 
are  useful  in  assisting  it  to  hold  to  the  twig  of  a 
tree.  For  what  purpose  are  the  claws  useful  to 
a  cat  ?  To  a  dog  ? 

Hang-Nails.  Sometimes  a  little  narrow  strip  of  skin  near 
the  root  of  the  nail  becomes  torn  up,  and  hangs  by  one  end. 
This  is  called  a  hang-nail.  If  you  have  ever  had  one,  you 
know  that  they  are  very  sore  and  painful.  But  biting  them 
off  makes  them  much  worse.  They  should  be  snipped  off  close 
tc  the  skin  with  sharp  scissors. 


FIGURE  13.  —  A 
piece  of  hu- 
man Hair  as  it 
looks  under 
a  magnifying 


72  GRADED   LESSONS   IN  HYGIENE. 

The  nails  should  be  kept  clean.  The  black-looking  dirt 
under  the  ends  of  the  nails  contains  not  only  much  filth,  but 
often  little  active  germs  of  disease  similar  to  those  that  we 
have  learned  live  in  impure  water.  Sickness  has  been  con- 
veyed in  this  way. 

Uses  of  the  Skin. — The  skin  is  very  useful  in  several  ways. 

1.  The  skin  protects  the  "body.     The  skin  is  so  soft  and  close 
fitting,  and  yet  gives  so  easily  with  every  movement  of  the 
arms  and  legs,  that  it  is  a  perfect  covering  for  protecting  the 
body. 

2.  It  removes  waste.     The  sweat  glands  are  constantly  at 
work  removing  from  the  blood  some  of  the  worn-out  particles 
of  the  body  which  cannot  possibly  be  of  further  use.     These 
waste  particles  are  carried  in  the  watery  perspiration  through 
the  sweat  ducts  to  the  pores  at  the  surface  of  the  body,  where 
they  pass  off  into  the  air. 

3.  Breathing  through  the  skin.     There  are  animals   that 
breathe  altogether  through  their  skin.     A  frog  can  breathe  so 
well  through  his  skin  that  he  will  live  several  days  after  his 
lungs  have  been  removed.     Some  little  animals  can  be  killed 
by  means  of  a  drop  of  camphor  on  their  skins.     It  smothers 
them  much  as  water  in  our  lungs  would  smother  us.     To  some 
extent  we  breathe  through  the  skin.     "We  should  be  very  care- 
ful that  the  skin  be  kept  clean  and  healthy  so  that  it  will  not 
by  any  chance  breathe  impurities  into  the  blood.     Perspira- 
tion, when  dried  and  allowed  to  accumulate  on  the  skin,  may 
be  carried  back  into  the  system  and  do  much  harm. 

4.  The  skin  regulates  the  temperature  of  the  body.     It  is  a 
well-known  fact  that  when  water  dries  up,  it  cools  everything 


THE   SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS.  73 

around  it.  A  hot,  dirty  street  in  the  summer-time  may  be 
thoroughly  sprinkled,  and  in  drying  again,  the  air  becomes 
cooler.  When  the  air  about  us  is  warm,  or  we  are  heated  by 
exercise,  the  heat  of  the  body  is  reduced  by  the  extra  amount 
of  sweat  going  to  the  surface  of  the  skin.  When  the  air 
is  cold  there  is  less  perspiration,  for  there  is  less  demand  for 
the  body's  being  cooled  off.  The  skin  with  its  millions  of 
sweat  glands,  acts  as  a  self-regulating  device  for  keeping  the 
heat  of  the  body  at  the  proper  point. 

Bathing. — We  have  spoken  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  the 
pores  of  the  skin  open.  If  they  were  to  be  closed  by  means  of 
a  paste  or  varnish,  death  would  result.  Now  at  times  patches 
of  varnish  do  gather  on  the  skin,  closing  the  pores.  The 
sweat,  that  does  such  good  service  to  the  body  in  carrying  out 
the  waste  particles,  dries  on  the  skin,  and  that  is  why  we 
should  bathe  at  least  once  or  twice  a  week  to  keep  the  skin 
healthy  and  the  pores  open,  that  the  poisonous  waste  may  pass 
out  instead  of  being  kept  in  the  blood.  At  each  bath  the  skin 
should  be  rubbed  briskly  with  a  towel,  so  as  to  cause  a  healthy 
glow.  The  skin  cannot  do  its  work  well  if  the  sweat  glands 
are  not  permitted  to  fulfill  their  purpose.  A  neglect  of  the 
skin,  by  failing  to  bathe  frequently,  gives  the  lungs  and  kidneys 
more  than  their  share  of  the  work  to  do. 

Bathing  is  necessary,  then,  because  three  million  tiny  little 
sewers  or  sweat  ducts  are  pouring  out  filth  and  dead  waste 
matter  on  the  surface  of  the  skin.  The  watery  portion  of  this 
waste  dries  up,  leaving  upon  the  skin  thin  scales  that  can 
scarcely  be  seen.  Water  not  only  cleanses  the  skin,  but  stimu- 
lates the  circulation  of  the  blood. 


74  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

For  the  purpose  of  promoting  public  health,  many  of  our 
largest  cities  have  provided  free  public  baths.  This  is  in 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  frequen-t  bathing  is  a  good  method 
of  preventing  disease.  That  the  people  who  have  poor  bathing 
facilities  in  their  own  homes  are  glad  to  avail  themselves  of 
these  free  public  baths  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  such  a  large 
number  take  advantage  of  such  an  opportunity.  In  Chicago, 
as  an  example,  several  such  free  baths  are  maintained,  and 
recently  in  a  single  month  eighty  thousand  persons  gladly  made 
use  of  the  privilege. 

We  should  not  lathe  in  water  that  is  too  cold  or  too  hot ; 
nor  when  we  are  very  tired;  nor  just  before  or  just  after  a 
hearty  meal.  Many  people,  especially  boys,  prefer  to  bathe  by 
going  in  swimming.  This  is  fine  exercise,  and  an  excellent 
way  in  which  to  take  a  bath,  but  we  should  remember  that  it 
is  dangerous  to  go  in  when  too  warm,  too  tired,  or  directly  after 
a  meal.  Many  persons  are  drowned  every  year  by  forget- 
ting these  cautions,  being  taken  with  cramps  while  in  the 
water. 

A  Fair  Skin. — Bathing  keeps  the  skin  fair  and  smooth, 
provided  the  waste  matters  in  the  blood  are  given  off  in  the 
proper  manner.  We  should  arrange  our  foods  so  that  there 
will  be  the  smallest  possible  amount  of  waste  matter  to  be 
given  off.  You  must  keep  the  stomach  in  good  order  if  you 
would  have  a  fair  skin.  If  the  stomach  is  loaded  down  with 
improper  food,  irregularly  eaten,  and  too  heavy  meals  that  are 
highly  seasoned  and  spiced,  the  food  will  not  be  digested,  and 
the  skin  will  be  of  a  "  muddy  "  appearance,  instead  of  fair  and 
beautiful. 


THE   SKIN  AND  THE  KIDNEYS.  75 

Face  Powder. — Paint  and  powder  are  in  reality  a  kind  of 
dirt  that  clogs  up  the  pores  of  the  skin,  and  in  the  end  makes 
the  skin  look  worse  than  ever.  A  healthy  skin  has  no  more 
need  of  face  powders  than  a  healthy  body  has  need  of  the 
doctor's  powders. 

Clothing. — For  the  sake  of  health,  it  is  important  that  care 
be  taken  as  to  proper  clothing.  There  is  almost  as  much  dan- 
ger from  too  much  clothing  as  there  is  from  not  enough  cloth- 
ing in  cold  weather.  By  overdressing  any  part  of  the  body, 
as  the  throat,  for  example,  more  than  the  proper  share  of  the 
blood  goes  to  these  parts,  and  they  become  inflamed.  Many 
sore  throats  are  caused  by  wearing  scarfs  and  mufflers  about 
the  throat.  The  harm  comes  from  overheating  this  part  of  the 
body,  making  it  "tender,"  and  also  from  sudden  cooling. 
Tight  clothing  is  always  injurious.  There  is  no  useless  space  in 
the  human  body.  The  organs  within  the  body  need  all  the 
room  nature  has  made  for  them.  Tight  clothing  about  the 
waist  crowds  the  organs  whose  perfect  condition  is  so  necessary 
to  health,  and  compresses  some  of  them  out  of  place  and  out  of 
shape.  Girls  need  just  as  much  room  for  their  livers,  stomachs, 
and  lungs  as  do  boys.  The  injury  done  by  tight  lacing  among 
American  girls  is  greater,  so  far  as  health  is  concerned,  than 
the  injury  done  to  Chinese  girls  by  their  fashionable  mothers 
binding  their  feet  so  as  to  deform  them  into  little,  rounded 
stumps.  A  deformed  liver,  crowded-up  lungs,  and  a  squeezed 
stomach,  are  worse  for  the  health  than  deformed  feet.  The 
wearing  of  flat-heeled  shoes,  rightly  called  "  common  sense,"  is 
better  for  the  health  than  the  very  high-heeled  French  shoes, 
that  are  sometimes  "the  style"  among  some  people.  Tight 


76  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

shoes  do  not  permit  of  proper  circulation  of  the  blood,  and 
often  cause  swellings,  corns,  bunions,  and  other  deformities  and 
diseases  of  the  feet.  The  stockings  should  not  be  held  up  by 
tight  elastic  garters  round  the  leg,  but  by  supporters,  fastened 
at  the  waist,  or  over  the  shoulders. 

If  paper  was  not  so  easily  torn,  it  would  make  excellent 


FIGURE  14.— Schematic  drawing,  representing  a  Corn, 
as  it  appears  in  section  on  a  microscopic  slide. 

clothing  for  cold  weather,  as  it  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  keep  in 
the  bodily  heat.  On  the  coldest  nights  we  can  keep  very  warm 
in  bed  by  spreading  a  couple  of  newspapers  over  us  between  the 
covers. 

THE    KIDNEYS. 

You  have  already  learned  of  the  work  of  the  skin  in  helping 
the  body  to  get  rid  of  certain  poisons.  You  will  also  learn  of 
the  work  the  lungs  do  along  the  same  line.  The  kidneys  also 


THE   SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS. 


77 


assist  us  in  getting  rid  of  many  impurities,  the  retention  of 
which  would  greatly  injure  health. 

The  kidneys  are  among  the  most  important  organs  of  the 
body.  They  are  two  bean-shaped  bodies  of  the  same  size,  each 
one  being  a  little  larger  than 
half  the  size  of  the  closed  fist, 
so  that  in  the  grown  person  they 
weigh  five  or  six  ounces.  One 
lies  on  each  side  of  the  back- 
bone, at  the  back  part  of  the 
cavity  of  the  abdomen  under  the 
lower  edge  of  the  lowest  ribs. 
The  kidneys  in  our  own  bodies 
are  very  much  like  those  of  the 
sheep  or  hog. 

The  Structure  of  the  Kid- 
neys— The  kidney  is  full  of  lit- 
tle tubes  or  sewer  drains,  very 
much  like  those  found  in  the 
skin.  In  fact,  the  kidneys  are 
not  very  different  from  the  skin. 
They  are  very  similar  to  a  roll 

of  skin,  turned  outside  in.  The  glands  in  the  kidneys,  that  cor- 
respond to  the  sweat  glands  in  the  skin,  pour  their  drainage 
substance  into  the  cavity  within  the  kidney,  shown  in  the  pic- 
ture of  the  kidney  cut  in  half. 

The  Work  of  the  Kidneys — The  general  plan  of  work 
that  the  kidneys  are  called  upon  to  do  is  quite  like  that  of  the 
skin,  though  different  in  some  respects,  and  even  more  impor- 


FIGURE  15.— A  human  Kidney,  a  little 
more  than  one-half  natural  size  in 
an  adult. 


78 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


tant.  The  kidneys  separate  poisonous  matter  from  the  blood, 
which,  if  not  removed,  would  soon  cause  death.  The  general 
name  given  to  the  poison  is  ur$a.  The  sweat  glands  help  us 
to  rid  the  blood  of  some  of  the  urea  and  mineral  matter. 
Though  the  kidneys  do  not  get  rid  of  much  more  water  than 
does  the  skin,  they  do  rid  our  bodies  of  many  times  more  urea 
and  mineral  matter.  If  the  kidneys 
become  diseased,  they  cannot  get  rid  of 
the  urea,  and  then  the  whole  body  be- 
comes poisoned,  and  Briglit's  disease  sets 
in.  This  disease  is  very  serious. 

Healthy  Kidneys — You  can  readily 
guess  that  the  skin  and  kidneys  are  in 
very  close  relation.  Anything  that  causes 
the  sweat  glands  of  the  skin  to  be  in- 
active, or  closes  the  pores,  makes  just 
that  much  extra  work  for  the  kidneys, 
and  as  any  organ  that 'has  to  do  more 
than  its  share  of  the  work  is  liable  to 
become  diseased,  the  kidneys,  from  over- 
work caused  by  inactivity  of  the  skin, 
may  become  seriously  diseased. 

One  way  of  keeping  the  kidneys  in  healthy  condition  is  to 
keep  the  skin  healthy  by  proper  bathing.  In  addition  we 
should  drink  plenty  of  pure  water,  not  too  hard,  that  is,  not  con- 
taining too  much  of  certain  minerals,  and  we  should  avoid  eat- 
ing too  much  rich  food,  such  as  pastry.  Pepper,  mustard  and 
alcohol  are  especially  harmful  to  the  kidneys. 


FIGURE  16.— A  vertical  sec- 
tion of  a  Kidney,  showing 
its  pelvis. 


THE   SKIN   AND   THE   KIDNEYS.  79 

Danger  from  Colds — Some  diseases  of  the  kidneys  are 
caused  by  exposure  to  the  cold,  especially  if  the  body  is  per- 
spiring freely  at  the  time.  A  cold,  you  recall,  checks  the 
activity  of  the  skin  by  closing  its  pores ;  the  blood  leaves  the 
skin  and  goes  to  the  internal  organs,  such  as  the  kidneys, 
giving  them  more  than  their  share  of  the  work  to  do.  At  the 
same  time  a  cold,  in  driving  the  blood  inward,  makes  the  kid- 
neys do  double  duty  in  excreting  the  poisons,  and  this  over- 
work, together  with  the  extra  amount  of  blood,  may  cause 
inflammation  of  the  kidneys. 


QUESTIONS   FOE,   STUDY. 

1.  What  are  the  uses  of  the  skin  ? 

2.  What  is  the  structure  of  the  skin  ? 

3.  What  causes  the  differences  in  complexion  in  different 
persons  ?     What  is  an  albino? 

4.  Do* you   know  any  animal  that    sheds   its   skin  every 
year? 

5.  What  is  a  cold? 

6.  Why  is  it  a  good  thing  to  take  a  hot  lemonade  when 
one  has  a  cold  ? 

7.  How  is  the  temperature  of  the  body  regulated  by  the 
sweat  glands? 

8.  Why  should  we  bathe  ? 

9.  How  is  chapping  of  the  skin  produced,  and  how  may  it 
be  prevented  ? 

10.  Why  should  not  the  nails  be  cut  too  close  to  the  flesh  ? 

11.  What  causes  white  spots  on  the  nails? 

12.  Why  do  scars  remain  white,  even  in  negros  ? 

13.  What  are  "blackheads"  ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  BONES. 

The  main  part  of  a  tree  you  call  the  trunk,  and  likewise  the 
main  part  of  your  body  is  called  the  trunk.  The  tree  trunk 
has  growing  out  from  it  branches  or  limbs ;  your  body  has  two 
arms,  or  upper  limbs,  and  two  legs,  or  lower  limbs.  At  the  top 
of  the  trunk  is  the  head,  or  skull,  joined  to  the  trunk  by  the 
neck.  The  main  parts  of  the  trunk  are,  as  you  already  know, 
the  chest,  the  abdomen,  and  the  backbone,  or  spinal  column. 
Each  arm  is  joined  to  the  main  part  of  the  body  at  the  shoulder, 
and  this  joint  is  called  the  shoulder  joint.  We  have  each  arm 
divided  into  upper-arm,  elbow,  forearm,  wrist,  and  hand.  The 
fingers  are  branches  or  parts  of  the  hand.  Each  leg  has  a  hip- 
joint,  thigh,  knee,  lower  leg,  ankle,  and  foot.  The  toes  are 
branches  or  parts  of  the  foot.  In  this  chapter  we  will  consider 
the  bony  framework  that  gives  to  the  body  and  its  parts  not 
only  form  and  strength,  but  also  a  means  of  preserving  the 
shape  and  solidity  of  the  body. 

The  Framework  of  Bones — If  we  should  attempt  to  build 
a  house  without  a  good  framework  of  sills,  studding,  and  rafters, 
it  would  quickly  fall  in  on  itself  or  collapse.  You  may  have 
visited  a  ship-yard  and  have  seen  the  framework  of  a  big  ves- 
sel, with  its  great  ribs  of  oak  or  steel.  The  bones  are  the 
framework  of  the  body,  just  as  the  timbers  that  are  put  up  in 

SO 


THE   BONES.  81 

building  a  house,  or  the  ribs  of  a  vessel,  are  its  frame.  If  the 
body  had  no  bony  framework,  it  would  be  soft  and  pulpy  like 
that  of  an  oyster.  We  would  then  have  to  live  in  a  shell,  as 
does  the  oyster,  to  keep  from  being  crushed.  We  would  also 
be  unable  to  run  about  or  do  any  work. 

Inside  of  the  body,  under  the  flesh,  is  a  stiff,  strong  frame, 
made  up  of  many  bones,  closely  joined  and  neatly  fitted 
together.  The  muscles,  which  we  will  soon  study,  make  these 
bones  move,  and  also  make  the  body  plump.  We  have  already 
learned  that  the  skin  covers  the  muscles  as  the  muscles  cover 
the  bones.  Sometimes  we  say  a  slender  person  is  nothing  but 
"  skin  and  bones."  This  cannot  be  true,  for  if  there  were  no 
muscles,  but  simply  skin  and  bones,  the  person  could  not 
move  his  bony  framework.  About  one-seventh  of  the  body  is 
bone,  while  a  little  more  than  one-half  is  muscle.  There  are 
in  each  human  body  206  bones,  and  they  are  very  different  in 
size  and  shape.  It  would  be  quite  a  puzzle  to  build  a  toy 
house  of  more  than  two  hundred  blocks,  each  one  of  which  had 
its  own  proper  place,  and  would  not  fit  anywhere  else.  You 
would  have  to  work  a  long  while  to  put  such  a  block  house 
together. 

The  Skeleton — All  the  bones  of  the  body  properly  fitted 
together,  each  bone  in  its  proper  place,  make  up  the  skeleton. 
The  smallest  are  the  three  little  bones  of  the  ear, — the  ham- 
mer, anvil,  and  stirrup.  The  largest  bone  is  the  upper  bone  of 
the  leg — the  thigh  bone,  between  the  hip  and  knee. 

The  skeleton  is  divided  into  four  main  parts ;  namely,  the 
skull,  the  trunk,  the  arms,  and  the  legs. 


82 


GKADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 


FIGURE  17.— Skeleton  of  a  Man. 


Shape  of  the  Bones. — 

The  bones  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  body  are  very 
different  in  shape.  We 
have  flat,  curved  plates, 
or  shell-shaped  bones  to 
form  the  skull.  Round 
bones,  like  pebbles,  are 
found  in  the  wrists  and 
ankles ;  while  little,  slen- 
der bones  form  the  fin- 
gers and  toes.  The 
backbone  is  made 
up  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  rings  of 
bone.  In  the  arms 
and  legs  we  have  long 
bones.  Each  of  these  long 
bones  is  really  a  hollow 
tube  with  a  very  hard  out- 
side. The  inside  is  filled 
with  a  soft  fat,  called 
marrow.  Such  a  bone  is 
called  a  marrow  -  bone. 
You  know  the  frame  of 
a  bicycle  is  made  of  hol- 
low tubing.  This  gives 
strength  and  lightness 
much  the  same  as  in  the 
long  bones  of  the  body. 


THE   BONES. 


83 


Strength  of  Bones — Each  bone  is 
hard  and  very  strong.  The  bones  are  so 
made  as  to  bend,  as  would  a  tough  stick 
of  wood  of  the  same  size,  before  breaking. 
A  good,  healthy  bone  is  twice  as  strong 
as  an  oak  stick  of  the  same  size. 

The  Skull — The  skull  is  made  up  of 
a  number  of  plates  of  bone,  so  put  to- 
gether as  to  form  a  hollow,  bony  box, 
which  holds  the  soft,  delicate  brain,  and 
at  the  same  time  protects  it.  There  are 
eight  of  these  plate-like  bones  forming  the 
brain  box ;  there  are  three  little  bones  in 
each  ear,  and  fourteen  bones  in  the  face. 
This  makes  in  all  twenty-eight  bones  of 
the  head. 

The  Trunk — The  bones  of  the  trunk 
are  the  ribs  (twenty-four  bones),  the  breast- 
bone (one  bone),  the  pelvis  (two  bones), 
and  backbone  (twenty-six  bones).  They 
form  a  framework  that  protects  and  con- 
tains the  vital  organs,  such  as  heart,  lungs, 
liver,  stomach,  kidneys,  and  intestines. 
The  tongue-lone  (one  bone)  is  included  in 
the  bones  of  the  trunk,  making  fifty-four 
bones. 

The  backbone,  or  spinal  column,  runs 

the  entire  length  of   the  back,  and  instead  of  being  but  one 
bone,  is  made  up  of  twenty-six  separate  rings  of  bone.     Be- 


FIGUEE  18.— Section  of 
Thigh-Bone,  sawn  in 
two  lengthwise,  show- 
ing the  arrangement 
of  different  kinds  of 
tissue. 


84  GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

tween  the  rings  of  bone  are  thick  pads  of  gristle,  which  act  as 
springs  or  cushions,  and  keep  the  body  from  being  jolted  when 
we  walk,  run,  or  jump. 

The  ribs  extend  from  the  side  of  the  backbone  around  the 
sides  toward  the  front  of  the  body,  where  they  are  joined  by 
the  gristle  or  cartilage  of  the  flat  breast-bone.  'The  ribs  look  a 
little  like  the  hoops  of  a  barrel.  With  the  backbone  and 
breast-bone  they  form  a  box-like  cage  called  the  chest,  which 
contains,  and  at  the  same  time  protects,  the  heart  and  lungs. 

The  Arms. — Each  of  the  arms,  above  the  wrist-joint,  has 
five  bones.  They  are  the  collar-bone,  which  joins  the  shoulder 
to  the  breast-bone;  the  shoulder-blade,  at  the  back  of  the 
shoulder;  the  upper  arm-bone  between  the  shoulder  and  the 
elbow,  and  the  lower  arm-bones  between  the  elbow  and  wrist. 
There  are  eight  little  bones  in  the  wrist,  five  bones  in  the  body 
or  palm  of  the  hand  next  to  the  wrist,  and  fourteen  bones  in 
the  fingers.  This  makes  thirty-two  bones  in  each  arm,  or  sixty- 
four  bones  in  both  of  the  upper  limbs. 

The  Legs. — The  bones  of  each  leg  are  the  thigh-bone 
(called  the  femur),  extending  from  the  hip-joint  to  the  knee, 
the  knee-cap,  the  two  lower  leg-bones,  the  heel-bone,  six  other 
little  bones  in  the  ankle,  five  bones  in  the  instep  (the  part  of 
the  foot  next  below  the  ankle  joint),  and  fourteen  bones  in  the 
toes.  This  makes  in  all  thirty  bones  in  each  of  the  lower 
limbs,  or  sixty  bones  in  all.  We  have,  then,  in  the 

Skull  and  face  -  -    28  bones. 

Trunk  54  bones. 

Arms    -  -     64  bones. 

Legs,  60  bones. 
A  total  of  206  bones  in  the  human  body. 


THE   BONES.  85 

Comparison  of  the  Hand  and  Foot — In  many  respects  the 
hand  and  foot  are  very  much  alike  The  toes  are  shorter  than 
the  fingers,  and  are  not  so  movable.  You  cannot  move  the  big 
toe  as  you  can  your  thumb.  The  instep  is  much  stronger  than 
the  wrist,  because  it  must  do  heavier  work.  It  must  not  only 
be  strong  enough  to  hold  up  the  weight  of  the  body,  but  in 
addition  must  bear  the  weight  of  any  load  we  carry.  On  the 


FIGURE  19. —Mechanism  of  the  Hip- Joint. 

whole,  the  foot  would  make  a  very  clumsy  hand,  and  yet  we 
know  of  people  without  arms  that  can  use  their  feet  quite  well 
to  do  the  work  usually  done  by  the  hands.  An  "armless 
wonder"  may  so  educate  and  train  his  toes  to  do  the  work  of 
the  fingers  as  to  be  able  to  hold  a  pen  and  write  quite  well, 
or  even  hold  a  brush  and  paint  pictures  with  them. 


86  GRADED   LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

The  Joints. — The  places  at  which  two  or  more  bones  are 
fastened  together  are  called  joints.  Some  joints  move  quite 
freely,  as  the  ball-and-socket  joinf  of  the  shoulder  or  hip,  or  the 
hinge-joint  of  the  elbow,  knee,  or  finger.  Others  have  no 
motion,  as  the  bones  of  the  skull.  Hinge-joints  can  open  and 
shut  in  one  direction  only,  like  the  blade  of  a  penknife.  If  the 
arm  or  leg  is  straight  at  the  elbow  or  knee,  and  should  be  bent 
in  the  wrong  direction,  the  bones  are  either  broken  or  put  out  of 
joint.  In  a  ball-and-socket  joint,  as  that  of  the  hip  or  shoul- 
der, the  end  of  the  long  bone  is  rounded  like  a  half  of  a  ball. 
This  rounded  end  fits  into  a  cup,  or  socket,  in  the  other  bone, 
making  it  possible  for  the  arm  or  leg  to  be  moved  and  turned 
in  any  direction. 

Cartilage. — The  ends  of  the  bones  which  rub  togecher  at  a 
joint  are  protected  by  a  smooth,  tough  covering  which  acts  as 
a  cushion  and  keeps  the  ends  of  the  bones  from  wearing.  The 
tough  cushion  is  made  of  gristle  and  is  called  ,  cartilage.  You 
have  seen  this  at  the  end  of  one  of  the  bones  in  a  joint  of  beef, 
or  "soup-bone." 

The  inside  of  the  cup,  or  socket,  is  lined  with  a  little  fine 
skin,  or  membrane,  made  into  a  bag  which  is  filled  with  a  fluid 
like  the  white  of  a  raw  egg.  This  liquid  oils  the  joints,  keep- 
ing them  from  becoming  dry.  Just  as  we  oil  a  rusty  hinge  to 
keep  it  from  squeaking,  or  oil  the  joint  where  the  blade  is 
attached  to  the  handle  of  a  knife  to  make  it  open  and  shut 
easily,  so  nature  provides  for  the  oiling  of  the  movable  joints  of 
the  body.  If  the  joints  were  dry,  every  movement  of  the  body 
would  become  not  only  difficult,  but  very  painful. 


THE   BONES. 


87 


FIGURE  20.— A  section  of  Bone,  showing  periosteum 
partially  removed. 


The  joints  are  held  together  by  means  of  stout  bands  of 

muscle,  called  ligaments. 

The  Periosteum.  —  Live  bone  is  covered  smoothly  over  with 

a  tight,  tough,  strong, 

thin  membrane.  This 

cover    extends    over 

the  whole  surface  of 

the  bone,  except  at 

the  joints,  where  the 

cartilage     takes    its 

place.     This  membrane,  or  thin,  skin-like  covering  of  the  bones, 

is  called  the  periosteum.  It  is  very  important  for  two  reasons  : 
first,  the  muscles  grow  fast  to  the  periosteum 
much  more  easily  than  they  would  to  dry 
bone;  second,  if  a  portion  of  the  diseased 
bone  is  removed,  as  in  the  case  of  the  femur, 
or  thigh-bone,  and  the  periosteum  is  not  in- 
jured, new  bones  will  form  in  the  place  of 
the  decayed  bone  that  has  been  removed.  If, 
however,  the  periosteum  itself  is  removed  or 
injured,  the  bone  substance  dies,  and  new 
bone  is  not  formed.  The  periosteum  is  full 
of  blood  vessels,  and  in  this  way  the  bone 
receives  the  nourishment  needed  for  health 
and  growth. 

Of  What  are  the  Bones  Composed?  —  The 
bones  contain  mineral  matter,  such  as  chalk 

. 

and  lime,  and  animal  matter  to  make  them 

y  ac        tOU§h  and   ke6P   them  fr°m  crumbling- 


FIGURE     21.  —  Bone 

tied  in  a  knot  after 


tionofacid. 


88  GRADED  LESSORS  IN   HYGIENE. 

mineral  matter  keeps  the  bones  from  bending  too  easily,  and  con- 
sists chiefly  of  lime.  This  can  be  dissolved  out  of  the  bone  by 
soaking  it  in  weak  acid'.  The  bone  will  then  keep  its  size  and 
shape,  but  will  be  very  easily  bent  like  a  rubber  tube.  When 
the  mineral  matter  is  out  of  the  bone,  it  is  so  easily  bent  that 
we  can  tie  it  in  a  knot,  as  you  see  in  the  picture.  The  bones 
of  young  people  contain  a  larger  proportion  of  animal  matter 
than  the  bones  of  older  persons,  and  are  more  easily  bent.  This 
is  the  reason  little  children  often  become  bow-legged.  In  walk- 
ing at  too  early  an  age,  the 
weight  of  the  body  causes  the 
bones  of  the  legs  to  bend. 

If  we  burn  a  bone,  it  be- 
comes much  lighter  and  much 
more  brittle.  By  burning  a 
bone  we  take  out  the  animal 
matter  and  leave  only  the 
mineral  lime  and  chalk  which 

FIGURE  22.— Foot  of  Chinese  Woman. 

will  not  burn.     The  mineral 

matter  is  needed  to  keep  the  bones  stiff  and  firm,  while  the 
animal  matter  is  required  to  make  them  tough  and  keep  them 
from  breaking  easily. 

You  remember  that  our  food  must  contain  some  mineral 
matter  to  keep  the  bones  in  healthy,  firm  condition,  and  pre- 
vent them  from  becoming  soft  and  gristly.  Like  the  tender, 
green  twigs  of  a  tree,  the  soft  bones  of  a  young  child  bend  very 
easily.  We  all  know  that  the  branch  of  a  tree  not  only  may 
be  very  easily  bent,  but  may  be  kept  bent  for  a  time,  and  will 
grow  hard  and  firm  in  this  position,  always  remaining  bent  and 


THE   BONES. 


deformed.  Likewise,  the  body  of  a  child  may  be  deformed. 
In  China  it  is  the  fashion  for  rich  ladies  to  have  small  feet,  so 
when  they  are  children  the  bones  of  their  feet  are  bound  and 
pressed  together.  This  deforms  the  foot  both  in  size  and 
shape.  Tight,  pointed  shoes  make  our  toes  grow  out  of  shape 
by  cramping  them  and  twisting 
them  to  one  side.  A  high-heeled 
shoe  deforms  the  instep. 

Improper  Positions. — When  we 
are  young  our  bones  are  so  soft 
and  so  easily  bent  that  they  very 
readily  grow  out  of  shape  if  we 
allow  ourselves  to  make  use  of  im- 
proper positions  in  sitting;  standing, 
walking,  or  lying  down.  In  this 
way  we  may  grow  to  be  flat- 
chested,  round-shouldered,  with 
badly  curved  backbones,  and  have 
a  number  of  other  deformities.  By 
sitting,  standing,  or  walking  erect 
we  may  make  our  backs  straight, 
our  shoulders  even,  and  our  chests 
full.  A  soldier  is  straight  because  FlGURE  23. -showing  curvature  of  the 
he  has  been  compelled  in  drilling  to  sPine-  caused  by  sittins  in  im- 

i  i,-      u      i  •    i^    i,-        u      i  proper  positions. 

keep  his  back  straight,  his  shoul- 
ders even,  and  his  chest  out. 

Many  boys  and  girls  have  misshapen  and  deformed  bodies 
because  they  have  not  had  school  seats  and  desks  to  fit  them. 
We  must  sit,  stand,  and  walk  with  our  shoulders  well  back  and 


90 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 


FIGURE    24.— Improper    position,   be- 
cause of  too  high  a  desk. 


our  chests  well  out,  so  as  to  have 
well-formed  bodies.  A  school  seat 
or  desk,  too  high  or  too  low,  will 
cause  ugly  curves  in  the  backbone, 
and  thus  deform  the  body. 

School  Seats  and  Desks — The 
seats  and  desks  should  be  so  made 
as  to  be  raised  or  lowered  accord- 
ing to  the  height  of  the  boy  or  girl 
using  them.  The  seats  should  be 
low  enough  to  permit  the  feet  to 
rest  upon  the  floor.  If  the  school 
seat  cannot  be  lowered  so  that  the 

feet  can  touch  the  floor,  a  board  plank  or  a  couple  of  bricks 
should  be  placed  on  the  floor  so  that  the  feet  will  not  have  to 
hang  without  any  support.  If  the  feet  are  not  resting  on  the 
floor  or  some  support,  the  legs  become  very  tired,  and  in  addi- 
tion, deformity  and  injury 
of  the  body  are  caused. 
Older  people  do  not  seem 
to  know  that  the  legs  of 
little  children  become  tired, 
in  church  and  other  places 
where  the  seats  are  too  high 
for  the  feet  to  touch  the 
floor,  much  more  quickly 
than  do  the  legs  of  grown- 
up people. 

,  -r   . . ,          ,        ,  n  . ,  ,     FIGURE  25.— Incorrect  position,  due  to  seat  and 

Neither  should  the  seat  desk  bemg  too  low. 


THE   BONES. 


91 


be  too  low.  It  is  just  as  harmful  for  a  large,  long-legged  boy 
to  sit  in  a  seat  too  low,  as  it  is  for  a  smaller  boy  to  sit  in  a 
seat  too  high  from  the  floor.  The  boy  with  long  legs  will  have 
to  bend  them  up  or  twist  them  about  the  seat  so  that  they  do 
not  grow  straight,  and  do  not  help  to  support  the  weight  of  the 
body  in  sitting.  Besides,  his  position  will  be  very  uncomfort- 
able, and  he  cannot  do  as 
good  school-work  as  if  he 
were  more  comfortably  seated. 
We  cannot  do  our  best  study- 
ing when  we  are  tired,  and 
we  can  by  no  means  do  the 
good  work  of  which  we  are 
capable  if  we  are  compelled, 
by  the  size  or  shape  of  the 
seat,  to  sit  in  an  uncomfort- 
able position.  But  most  seri- 
ous of  all  is  the  danger  of 
deformity  that  will  result 
from  continued  use  of  an  ill-fitting  seat  and  desk. 

Adjustable  Seats. — In  order  to  make  it  possible  for  school 
seats  and  desks  to  be  of  the  proper  height,  they  are  now  being 
made  so  that  they  may  be  raised  or  lowered.  Such  a  desk  or 
seat  is  called  adjustable,  because  its  height  can  be  readily 
changed.  There  are  many  such  seats  and  desks  now  being 
used.  The  one  here  pictured*  is  raised  and  lowered  in  the 
same  manner  as  is  a  revolving  office  chair. 


FIGURE  26.— An  adjustable  seat  and  desk. 
(See  foot-note.) 


*From   "Hygienic  Desks  for  School  Children,' 
Review,  June,  1899. 


by  Dr.  Mosher,  in  Educational 


92 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


Growing  Out  of  Shape — By  standing  habitually  on  one  foot, 
sitting  bent  forward  for  any  considerable  length  of  time  while 
reading  or  studying,  sleeping  with!  head  raised  too  high  on  a 
very  thick  pillow,  walking  in  a  slipshod,  careless  mariner,  we 
are  placing  ourselves  in  great  danger  of  having  our  bodies  grow 

out  of  shape.  While  we  are 
young  the  framework  of  our 
bodies  is  growing,  and  our  bones 
very  easily  take  the  shape  we 
give  them.  To  give  them  the 
right  form  we  must  fix  firmly  the 
habit  of  holding  the  body  erect. 
In  holding  the  shoulders  back, 
we  make  the  chest  stand  out 
full,  giving  more  room  for  the 
heart  and  lungs,  and  we  can  in 
this  way  breathe  %  more  air  and 
have  better  blood,  and  at  the 
same  time  make  the  forms  of 

FIGURE  27.-The  same  seat  and  desk  as    our   bodies    more    and    more    as 
used  in  writing. 

they  should  be. 

Broken  Bones. — Sometimes  by  rough  play,  a  fall,  or  other 
accident,  the  bones  may  be  broken  in  two,  just  as  a  stick  may 
be  broken.  At  the  broken  place  the  ends  are  splintered  much 
as  in  the  case  of  a  broken  stick.  The  bone  should  be  set  in 
proper  shape  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  injury,  and  the  parts 
held  firmly  together  in  the  same  position  by  means  of  a  thin 
piece  of  board,  or  shingle,  called  a  "  splint."  Sometimes  it  is 
necessary  to  use  a  plaster-of-paris  cast  in  bandaging  the 
broken  member,  in  order  to  hold  the  broken  parts  together 


THE   BONES. 


93 


securely.  After  being  placed  together  right,  Mother  Nature 
does  the  rest  of  the  work.  The  broken  ends  are  quickly  sur- 
rounded with  a  jelly-like  substance  from  the  blood.  This  grows 
harder  each  day  by  taking  into  itself  mineral  matter  from  the 
the  blood,  until  at  the  end  of  a  few  weeks  hard  bone  is  formed, 
firmly  binding  the  broken 
and  splintered  ends  together. 
Sometimes  the  portion  thus 
mended  becomes  even  stronger 
than  the  original  bone. 

Sprains — Sometimes  the 
little  muscle  bands,  or  liga- 
ments, that  hold  the  bones 
together  at  a  joint,  are  over- 
stretched or  even  torn  by 
sudden  twisting  or  turning. 
A  finger  or  thumb  may  be 
sprained  by  being  bent  too  far 
back,  and  an  ankle  by  being 
turned  suddenly  to  one  side. 
A  sprain  is  a  very  serious  acci- 
dent. Sometimes  a  sprain  is  even  more  serious  than  a  broken 
bone.  There  should  be  complete  rest  of  the  part  sprained  until 
it  can  be  used  without  pain.  If  the  ligaments  are  torn  so  badly 
that  the  ends  of  the  bones  are  out  of  place  at  the  joint,  we  have 
a  dislocation,  or  bones  out  of  joint.  This  is  always  a  serious 
accident.  In  pulling  at  your  fingers  to  make  them  "  crack  "  at 
the  knuckles,  you  are  weakening  these  joints,  and  at  the  same 
time  causing  the  knuckles  to  grow  into  large  lumpy  knots. 


FIGURE  28.— The  same  seat  and  desk  as  used 
in  study. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE    MUSCLES. 

You  know  the  bones  are  covered  over  with  a  soft  substance 
which  we  call  flesh.  We  eat  the  flesh  of  animals,  and  as  you 
look  at  a  beefsteak  you  will  discover  that  some  of  the  flesh  is 
white  or  yellowish,  while  the  rest  of  it  is  red.  The  white  or 
yellow  flesh  of  a  piece  of  beef  is  fat.  The  red,  lean  flesh  is 
composed  of  muscles. 

The  bony  framework  of  the  body  is  covered  over  with 
muscles,  and  they  form  a  little  more  than  half  of  its  entire 
weight.  As  the  brain  does  the  mental  work,  so  the  muscles  do 
the  physical  work.  Of  course  you  are  aware  that  the  arms 
and  legs,  the  fingers  and  toes,  the  mouth  and  tongue,  the  eyes 
and  heart,  are  all  moved  by  means  of  muscles.  Bend  the  arm 
at  the  elbow  so  as  to  bring  the  hand  to  the  shoulder  as  strongly 
and  as  far  as  possible,  and  you  will  notice  the  muscle  of  the 
upper  arm  bunch  up  under  the  skin.  You  can  both  see  and 
feel  it.  If  you  are  right-handed,  and  therefore  use  the  muscle 
of  the  right  arm  more  than  you  do  that  of  the  left,  the  muscle 
of  the  right  arm  is  larger.  Look  at  the  back  of  the  hand  as 
you  move  your  fingers,  and  you  can  see  the  action  of  the  cords 
that  run  from  your  arm  to  the  finger  ends.  Clasp  the  left 
hand  tightly  round  the  right  arm  just  below  the  elbow,  and 
you  can  readily  discover  the  action  of  the  muscles  of  the  arm 

94 


THE  MUSCLES. 


95 


FIGURE  29.— Showing  some  of  the  Muscles  of  the  Human  Body.    Observe  the  marked 
differences  in  shape. 


96 


GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


that  have  so  much  to  do  with  the  movements  of  the  fingers. 
Place  the  tips  of  the  fingers  at  the  side  of  the  face,  just  in 
front  of  the  hinge  of  the  lower  j»w;  now  shut  the  teeth  firmly 
and  note  the  bulging  of  muscle. 

Number  and  Shape  of  Muscles. — You  have  about  five  hun- 
dred different  muscles  in  the  body.  They  are  arranged  in  such 
a  way  as  to  give  the  body  a  rounded  and  beautiful  appearance, 

and  at  the  same  time 
to  do  the  best  work  in 
moving  the  body  and 
its  parts  in  the  easiest 
and  most  useful  fash- 
ion. 

The  muscles  are  of 
many  different  shapes 
and  of  various  sizes. 
The  largest  muscle  of 
the  back,  the  chief  one 

used  when  we  raise  the  body  from  the  ground  by  means  of  the 
arms,  weighs  several  pounds.  One  of  the  muscles  of  the  legs, 
the  one  used  when  we  cross  the  legs  "tailor  fashion,"  is  two  feet 
long.  One  of  the  muscles  inside  the  ear,  the  stirrup  muscle,  is 
but  one-sixth  of  an  inch  long  and  weighs  only  one  grain. 
Many  of  the  muscles  are  arranged  in  pairs  so  that  we  have  two 
alike  both  as  to  size  and  shape — one  for  each  side  of  the  body. 
Structure  of  the  Muscles — If  you  look  at  a  piece  of  corned 
beef  that  has  been  well  boiled,  or  a  slice  of  chipped  dried  beef, 
you  will  discover  it  seems  to  be  made  of  bundles  of  small  fibers 
or  threads  of  flesh.  With  a  sharp  needle  or  pointed  knife- 


FIGURE  30.— Showing  the  Structure  of  Muscles. 


THE   MUSCLES. 


97 


blade  you  can  pick  one  of  these  small  fibers  into  smaller  and 
finer  threads.  Looked  at  under  the  microscope,  it  is  found  that 
any  one  of  these  is  made 
up  of  still  finer  fibers,  finer 
than  the  finest  silk  thread, 
even  much  finer  than  the 
finest  thread  of  a  spider's 
web.  Each  one  of  these 
very  fine  threads  of  flesh  is 
called  a  muscular  fiber. 
Many  of  them  bound  to- 
gether into  a  single  bundle 
make  a  muscle. 

How  the  Muscles  Act. — 
When  we  make  a  muscle 
act,  each  of  its  tiny  little  threads  makes  itself  shorter  and 
thicker,  just  as  a  stretched  rubber  thread  becomes  thicker  if  we 


FIGURE  31.— Showing  how  the  muscles  shorten 
and  thicken,  when  bending  the  arm. 


FIGURE  32.— Showing  how  the  muscle  appears  when  arm  is  extended. 

let  go  of  one  end  and  permit  it  to  go  back  to  its  original  size 
and  shape.      Measure  with  a  tape  the  circumference  of  the 


98  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

upper  arm  when  the  arm  hangs  down  free;  measure  it  again 
when  the  arm  is  bent  with  the  hand  to  the  shoulder.  In  the 
same  manner  measure  the  foreajrm  a  short  distance  below  the 
elbow  when  the  hand  is  open,  and  again  when  the  hand  is 
tightly  clenched.  By  such  experiments  as  these  we  learn  that 
when  a  muscle  works  it  becomes  shorter,  thicker,  and  harder. 

Muscle  does  its  work  by  shortening.  In  shortening  it  pulls 
on  the  bones  and  produces  motion.  When  a  muscle  shortens 
it  is  said  to  "  contract,"  but  inasmuch  as  it  occupies  the  same 
amount  of  space  all  the  time,  the  word  "  contract "  is  scarcely  cor- 
rect ;  for  when  muscle  shortens  it  does  not  get  smaller,  but 
thickens  in  proportion,  and  thus  fills  the  same  amount  of  space 
it  did  before. 

A  muscle  cannot  be  kept  shortened  any  great  length  of 
time.  If  you  "hold  your  arm  out  straight  as  long  as  you  can 
possibly  do  so,  it  at  first  feels  tired,  then  finally  it  pains.  The 
muscles  are  so  related  to  each  other  as  to  have  periods  of 
action  and  then  periods  of  rest.  In  many  of  our  bodily  activi- 
ties, such  as  walking,  one  set  of  muscles  acts  while  the  other 
set  rests,  or  gets  ready  to  act  again.  This  is  the  reason  that  it 
is  not  so  tiresome  to  walk  one  hour  as  it  would  be  to  stand 
perfectly  still  for  a  much  shorter  time.  One  muscle  (biceps) 
bends  the  arm  at  the  elbow;  another  muscle  (triceps)  unbends 
or  straightens  the  arm.  When  one  of  these  muscles  is  short- 
ened, the  other  is  lengthened.  In  order  to  be  ready  for  action, 
the  muscles  are  always  slightly  stretched.  This  is  the  reason, 
when  a  cut  is  made  into  the  flesh,  the  wound  always  gapes  open. 

Muscle  Fastenings. — Most  of  the  muscles  are  made  fast  to 
the  bones,  and,  as  a  rule,  one  end  of  the  muscle  is  attached  to 


THE   MUSCLES. 


99 


one  bone  and  the  other  to  another  bone.  Sometimes  one  end 
is  fastened  to  a  bone,  and  the  other  end  attached  to  the  skin 
or  other  muscles.  There  are 
some  muscles  that  are  not 
attached  directly  to  the  bones, 
but  are  made  fast  by  means  of 
hard,  firm  cords  called  tendons. 
You  can  feel  tendons  by  plac- 
ing the  thumb  of  one  hand 
upon  the  wrist  of  the  other 
hand,  then  by  working  the 
fingers  of  the  latter  hand,  you 
will  quickly  discover  these 
small,  hard  cords  moving  under 
the  skin.  The  tendon  just 
above  the  heel  supports  the 
weight  of  the  body  when  we 
stand  on  tiptoe.  It  is  the 
largest  tendon  in  the  body, 
and  is  called  the  tendon  of 
Achilles.  Your  teacher  will 
tell  you  how  it  got  its  name. 

Motion.  —  Motion  is  the 
most  prominent  sign  of  life. 
If  an  animal  shows  no  move- 
ments whatever,  it  is  no  longer 

alive.  We  move  to  get  our  food ;  and  we  move  when  we  eat  and 
digest  it.  We  move  to  avoid  injury,  as  when  we  dodge.  Even 
during  sleep  the  movements,  of  breathing  are  seen.  Place  your 


FIGURE  33.— Knee-Joint,  showing  tendons. 


100  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

hand  on  the  left  side  of  your  chest,  and  you  feel  your  heart 
beat.  Your  finger  placed  at  the  wrist  can  feel  the  beating 
pulse.  To  properly  taste  food,;'we  move  the  tongue  about;  to 
see,  we  open  our  eyelids  and  turn  the  face  toward  the  object ;  to 
smell,  we  sniff  with  our  nostrils ;  to  hear,  we  turn  the  head ;  and 
there  is  motion  within  the  ear  so  as  to  adjust' its  various  parts 
that  we  may  hear  correctly ;  to  feel,  we  move  the  hand  or  finger 
to  touch  the  object.  There  is  motion  when  we  speak,  when  we 
write,  when  we  laugh,  when  we  sing,  and  there  is  motion  in  the 
expression  of  the  face.  Motions  are  necessary  to  every  process 
of  life,  and  all  motions  are  produced  by  the  muscles.  How 
important,  then,  the  muscles  are!  How  necessary  that  we 
keep  them  healthy  by  the  proper  food  and  exercise ! 

How  to  Make  the  Muscles  Strong — If  we  rightly  use  our 
muscles,  they  will  surely  become  strong.  As  a  rule,  the 
muscles  we  use  the  most  are  the  strongest,  unless  they  have 
been  so  overworked  that  they  give  out.  The  arm  we  use  the 
more  is  stronger  than  the  other  arm.  The  arms  of  the  black- 
smith, boilermaker,  or  carpenter  are  much  stronger  than  the 
arms  of  persons  who  do  not  exercise  them.  The  calf  of  the 
leg  of  a  soldier  on  the  march,  or  of  a  letter-carrier  who  must 
walk  a  great  deal,  develops  into  a  great  bunch  of  hard  muscle 
because  of  much  use.  Men  who  work  out  of  doors  at  healthful 
labor  are  much  stronger  than  tailors  or  clerks,  who  use  only 
a  few  of  their  muscles,  and  are  confined  by  their  work  indoors. 
Boys  and  girls  who  live  where  they  can  play  and  work  out  of 
doors  are  very  fortunate.  They  will  become  much  stronger 
and  be  more  healthy  than  the  boy  or  girl  shut  up  in  the  dingy 
rooms  of  a  tenement  house  in  one  of  our  crowded  cities- 


THE  MUSCLES 


FIGURE  34.— Muscles  of  the  Back. 


102  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


eli  ol  the  very  rich  who  are  not  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
,  s,om£  regular  work  to  do  that  would  give  their  muscles  exercise, 
<  -and'  wh  coin's  tead  of  walking,  running,  skating,  or  romping  with 
other  children,  ride  about  in  a  carriage,  and  are  treated  much 
as  delicate  flowers  in  a  hot-house,  are  also  to  be  greatly  pitied. 
They  are  often  saved  from  the  work  that  would  do  them  much 
good,  and  develop  their  growing  muscles,  by  servants  and 
others  who  are  employed  to  do  their  work  for  them.  It  may 
be  very  nice  to  have  fine  clothes  of  delicate  colors,  but  I  am 
sure  every  boy  and  girl  will  agree  with  me  that  it  is  a  great 
deal  better  to  have  clothes  that  permit  us  to  exercise  all  we 
wish  without  soiling  or  tearing  them.  Little  Lord  Fauntle- 
roy,  with  his  close-fitting  velvet  suit,  fine  slippers,  and  long, 
carefully  arranged  curls,  may  be  the  kind  of  a  boy  for  a  pic- 
ture, but  the  boy  who  is  healthy  and  happy  is  the  one  with 
strong,  loose  clothes  that  have  big  pockets  bulging  out  with 
string,  nails,  marbles,  and  other  of  his  treasures,  who  can  thus 
use  his  muscles  freely  as  he  does  his  work  or  plays  games. 

Necessity  for  Exercise  —  The  muscles  get  food,  nourish- 
ment, and  strength  from  the  blood.  Exercise  causes  more  blood 
to  flow  to  the  muscles,  and  in  this  way  exercise  brings  more 
food  to  the  muscles,  making  them  develop.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  time  to  develop,  train,  and  educate  any  muscle  is 
at  the  time  of  its  most  rapid  growth.  The  proper  time  to 
develop,  train,  and  educate  the  muscles  of  the  arm  is  when 
they  are  growing  most  rapidly.  After  the  muscles  have  ac- 
quired their  growth  they  cannot  be  benefited  so  much  by 
exercise  as  they  would,  could  they  have  been  intelligently  and 
extensively  used  earlier.  Exercise  while  we  are  young  does 


THE   MUSCLES. 


103 


much  more  good  than  it  will  when  we  are  older.  As  we  become 
older,  our  muscles  become  more  fixed  in  form  and  size,  and  exer- 
cise of  them  does  not  accomplish  what  it  would  have  when 
they  were  younger  and  more  plastic.  We  will  speak  of  the 
best  kinds  of  exercise  for 
boys  and  girls  in  a  separate 
chapter.  You  will  then 
learn  what  exercises  are 
helpful  in  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  muscles, 
and  what  exercises  are 
harmful. 

Necessity  for  Rest — To 
use  the  same  set  of  muscles 
very  long  not  only  renders 
them  very  tired,  but  very 
weak.  After  our  muscles 
have  been  properly  exercised 
they  should  be  rested.  To 
become  too  tired  is  not  only 
very  painful  but  very  injuri- 
ous. It  has  been  proven 
that  great  fatigue  actually 
poisons  the  blood.  If  we 

inject  some  of  the  blood  of  a  very  tired  animal  into  a  healthy 
rabbit,  it  will  die  because  of  the  poison  of  fatigue  in  the 
blood  of  the  tired  animal.  Exercise  is  good,  if  it  is  of  the 
proper  kind  and  amount,  but  overwork  and  overstrain  of  the 
muscles  are  always  injurious.  Some  children  do  not  grow  to 


FIGURE  35.— Muscles  of  the  Face  and  Neck. 


104  GRADED   LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

their  full  size  or  strength,  because  when  yet  young  and  growing 
fast,  at  the  age  of  from  ten  to  fourteen,  they  quit  school  and  go 
to  work  at  some  employment  ttto  heavy  for  them,  either  in 
store,  factory,  mill,  or  mine,  and  by  overworking  their  muscles 
become  very  tired,  thus  stunting  their  growth  and  preventing 
their  reaching  the  full  development  necessary  to  heal  thy,  happy 
lives.  Muscles  used  until  they  are  strained  become  weaker  in- 
stead of  stronger,  for  they  will  wear  out  faster  than  they  can 
be  fed  by  the  blood. 

Round  Shoulders. — Curvature  of  the  spine  and  round 
shoulders  are  generally  the  result  of  improper  positions.  A 
person  becomes  round  or  "  stooped "  shouldered  by  standing  or 
sitting  in  an  improper  position  until  the  backbone,  or  spinal 
column,  loses  its  right  shape.  Sitting  at  a  desk  too  high  or  too 
low  injures  the  muscles  as  much  as  it  does  the  bony  framework, 
which,  as  you  recall,  was  discussed  in  the  last  chapter.  The 
muscles  of  our  backs,  if  they  are  properly  used,  hold  us  up, 
throw  our  shoulders  back  and  keep  us  in  an  erect  position.  A 
lazy  person  will  let  his  shoulders  stoop,  and  hold  himself  up  by 
leaning  against  a  table,  desk,  or  the  wall  while  standing. 
Sometimes  such  a  person  will  wear  shoulder-braces  to  keep  the 
shoulders  in  their  proper  position.  These  braces  usually  do 
harm  because  they  rest  the  muscles  and  prevent  them  from 
doing  the  work  they  should,  thus  allowing  them  to  become 
weak.  Soldiers  have  a  better  way.  They  make  the  muscles 
hold  the  shoulders  back  by  their  constant  drill  in  the  line,  and 
standing  and  walking  in  an  erect  position.  It  is  easy  to  get 
these  muscles  so  well  developed  by  military  drill  that  it  will  be 
perfectly  natural  for  us  to  sit  and  stand  erect,  and  be  painful 


THE  MUSCLES.  105 

for  us  to  let  our  shoulders  become  stooped  and  round  as  the 
body  lops  forward,  even  for  a  few  minutes.  Military  drill  is  a 
very  good  thing  for  schoolboys,  whether  they  receive  it  in  a 
gymnasium,  or  get  it  by  organizing  a  military  company  of  their 
own.  It  would  be  a  good  thing  if  in  every  school  there  was 
such  a  military  company  formed  and  a  short  drill  had  every 
day.  Bound  shoulders,  then,  come  from  careless  habits  of 
sitting  and  standing,  or  from  improper  seats  and  desks  in  the 
schools.  Such  a  position  as  we  have  in  stooped  shoulders  nar- 
rows the  chest,  makes  it  of  less  capacity,  and  weakens  the 
lungs,  thus  in  a  measure  causing  injury  to  the  health.  The 
reason  that  the  peasant  women  of  Europe,  who  work  so  hard, 
have  such  straight,  erect  bodies,  is  that  they  are  often  compelled 
to  carry  heavy  burdens  on  their  heads.  These  heavy  loads  can- 
not be  carried  on  the  head  unless  one  walks  erect  and  steady, 
so  these  women  come  to  have  straight  backs.  Careless  habits 
in  sitting  not  only  do  much  harm,  but  are  very  difficult  to  cor- 
rect, and  if  not  corrected  in  our  youth,  the  muscles  become  so 
fixed  and  "  set"  that  such  habits  are  not  overcome  in  later  life. 
Effects  of  Inactivity — We  know,  then,  that  in  order  to 
make  the  muscles  strong,  they  must  be  used.  To  make  the 
whole  body  strong,  every  group  of  the  five  hundred  muscles  in 
the  body  must  be  exercised.  If  your  arm  should  be  tied  in  a 
sling  and  kept  there,  and  you  should,  as  a  result,  use  only  the 
other  arm,  the  idle  arm  would  become  small,  puny,  sickly,  and 
weak,  while  the  used  arm  would  continue  to  develop  and  grow 
large  and  strong.  Any  part  of  the  body,  any  set  of  muscles 
which  is  not  used,  will  surely  become  w^eak  in  the  course  of 
time.  We  should,  therefore,  take  a  certain  amount  of  exercise 


106  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

or  muscle  activity  each  day,  just  as  we  necessarily  take  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  wholesome  food  and  drink  each  day.  Both  are 
equally  important  to  life  and  health. 

Self-Acting  Muscles — There  are  some  muscles  in  the  body 
that  do  not  act  simply  when  we  wish  them  to  do  so,  but  they 
act  when  it  is  necessary,  whether  we  wish  them  to  or  not. 
The  muscles  which  cause  the  heart  to  beat,  or  cause  us  to 
sneeze  or  hiccough,  are  of  this  class.  Did  you  ever  try  to  stop 
sneezing  or  hiccoughing?  If  you  have,  you  have  discovered 
that  though  you  tried  very  hard  you  could  not  succeed  in  your 
effort.  The  muscles  which-  act  of  themselves  are  called  invol- 
untary muscles.  The  muscles  that  move  the  arm,  hand,  or 
tongue,  act  when  we  wish  them  to  do  so.  They  receive  their 
orders  from  the  will,  and  act  accordingly.  Such  muscles  are 
called  voluntary  muscles.  If  the  muscles  of  the  arm  were  of 
the  self-acting  kind,  we  could  not  direct  its  movements.  If  the 
muscles  of  the  heart  had  to  be  directed  by  us,  and  were  not 
self-acting,  we  would  have  to  stay  awake  all  the  time  to  keep 
the  heart  beating  and  its  muscles  going.  Do  you  not  think 
it  a  very  good  arrangement  to  have  some  of  the  muscles  of  the 
body  self-acting  or  involuntary  ? 

Effect  of  Alcoholic  Drinks  upon  the  Muscles. — Alcoholic 
drinks  never  do  any  good  to  the  muscular  system,  and  often  do 
great  harm.  Continued  use  of  alcohol  as  a  beverage  causes 
lasting  changes  for  the  worse  in  muscle  structure.  The  fat 
cells  become  too  abundant  and  take  the  place  of  proper  mus- 
cular tissue.  Indulgence  in  alcoholic  drinks  frequently  causes 
enfeebled  heart  action  and  "fatty  degeneration"  of  the  heart. 
Alcohol  diminishes  the  power  of  endurance.  Men  endure  more 
cold  and  more  hard  work  without  alcohol  than  with  it. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BLOOD  AND  ITS  CIBCULATION. 

You  have  already  learned  that  all  parts  of  the  body  derive 
their  food  and  nourishment  from  the  blood.  Each  part  selects 
from  the  blood  just  the  food  it  needs.  The  solid  food  we  eat 
is  dissolved,  as  you  remember,  by  the  process  of  digestion,  and 
is  then  taken  up  by  the  blood  and  carried  to  every  portion  of 
the  body. 

Every  living  plant  or  animal  of  the  higher  sort  secures  its 
food  by  means  of  a  fluid  circulating  through  it.  In  plants 
this  fluid  is  the  sap;  in  insects,  a  colorless,  watery  blood;  in  fish, 
a  red  but  cold  blood;  in  man,  red,  warm  blood.  On  account  of 
its  necessity  to  life  it  is  often  called  the  "river  of  life,"  and 
sometimes  the  "vital  fluid." 

The  Blood. — One-twelfth  of  the  weight  of  your  body  is 
blood.  When  you  weigh  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds, 
your  body  contains  about  ten  pounds,  or  nearly  two  and  one- 
half  gallons  of  blood. 

You  have  perhaps  seen  a  microscope,  and  know  that  it  is 
an  instrument  which,  when  we  look  through  it,  makes  objects  ap- 
pear many  times  larger  than  they  really  are.  Looked  at  through 
the  microscope,  the  foot  of  a  fly  appears  as  large  as  your  hand. 
When  we  look  at  a  drop  of  clear  but  impure  water  through  a 
microscope,  we  see  that  it  is  full  of  living  little  animals  that 

107 


108 


GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


cannot  be  seen  by  the  naked  eye.  Now,  if  you  place  a  single 
drop  of  blood  under  the  lens  of  the  microscope,  and  look  at  it, 
you  will  discover  that  the  color  of  the  blood  is  caused  by 
little,  flat,  round  particles,  so  small  that  it  takes  three  thou- 
sand of  them,  placed  side  by  side,  to  measure  an  inch.  These 
discs  are  called  corpuscles.  While  the  blood  appears,  to  the 
unaided  eye,  like  any  red  fluid,  such  as  dark  red  ink,  the 

microscope  plainly  shows  that 
there  are  two  parts  to  the  blood, 
a  colorless,  watery  fluid,  called 
plasma,  and  the  tiny  bodies  called 
corpuscles. 

The  Corpuscles  of  the  Blood 

Most  of  the  corpuscles  are  red, 
and  they  give  to  the  blood  its 
color.  A  few  of  them  are  white. 
The  red  ones  are  more  important 
as  well  as  many  times  more  numer- 
ous, for  they  act  as  food  carriers 
to  all  parts  of  the  body.  In  the  healthy  person  there  are  three 
hundred  red  corpuscles  to  every  white  one.  These  little  red 
bodies  go  floating  through  the  veins  and  arteries  like  little  rub- 
ber boats,  for  they  •  sometimes  stretch  out  long  and  thin,  in 
order  to  get  through  the  narrow  channels,  valves,  and  gateways 
in  the  small  blood  tubes.  In  a  drop  of  blood  there  may  be 
found  from  three  to  five  millions. 

The  Use  of  the  Corpuscles — The  red  corpuscles,  which  we 
have  compared  to  little  rubber  boats  floating  in  the  waters  of 
the  blood,  have  a  very  important  work  to  do.  They  go  to  the 


FIGURE  36.— The  Corpuscles  of  the 
Blood. 


THE   BLOOD   AND   ITS  CIRCULATION.  109 

lungs  which  are  filled  with  the  fresh  air  just  breathed  in,  and 
they  come  close  to  the  air  in  the  lungs  and  take  from  it  as  big 
a  load  of  oxygen  as  they  can  carry.  Oxygen  is  a  gas  contained 
in  the  air,  and  is  one  of  the  many  things  that  strengthens,  re- 
freshes, and  repairs  the  body.  These  little  red  corpuscle 
boats  float  down  from  the  lungs  through  the  limbs  to  the  very 
tips  of  the  fingers  and  ends  of  the  toes,  through  the  finest  little 
hair-like  blood  canals,  and  to  the  finely  woven  web  of  blood 
vessels  on  the  surface  of  the  brain,  carrying  oxygen  to  the 
nerves,  muscles,  and  other  tissues  of  the  body.  Just  as  soon 
as  they  give  up  their  oxygen,  these  same  corpuscles  hasten 
back  through  the  veins  to  the  heart,  and  then  again  to  the  lungs 
for  another  load  of  life-giving  oxygen  gas.  Because  of  the  special 
work  they  perform,  the  red  corpuscles  are  called  oxygen  carri- 
ers. The  white  corpuscles  have  work  to  do  in  keeping  the 
body  in  good  repair,  and  seem  to  stop  at  any  portion  of  the 
body  where,  on  account  of  disease  or  injury,  there  is  any  mend- 
ing to  do.  They  also  destroy  poisons. 

While  no  part  of  the  body  could  live  without  the  blood  to 
nourish  it  in  the  manner  we  have  described,  we  must  not  forget 
that  the  blood  also  renders  another  great  service  by  gathering 
up  the  waste  and  poisonous  materials  and  carrying  them  on  to 
be  cast  out  of  the  body.  No  part  could  live  if  these  waste 
impurities  were  not  carried  away.  Not  only  is  the  blood  the 
feeder,  but  it  is  also  the  sweeper  and  cleaner  of  the  body. 

Circulation  of  the  Blood — Because  the  blood  goes  round 
and  round  in  your  body  from  the  head  to  the  lungs  and  back 
again,  then  to  the  hands,  feet,  and  heart,  and  then  back  again  to 
the  heart,  in  something  of  a  circle,  it  is  said  to  circulate.  The 


110 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


tubes  through  which  the  blood  is  carried  to  and  from  various 

parts  of  the  body,  are  called  blood  vessels.  There  are  three 
kinds  of  these  blood  tubes  or  blood  ves- 
sels. One  set  carries  the  blood  out  from 
the  heart  to  the  remote  parts  of  the  body; 
these  are  the  arteries.  Through  another 
set  of  blood  vessels  the  blood  flows 
back  to  the  heart;  these  are  called  the 
veins.  The  arteries  and  veins  are  blood 
vessels  through  which  the  blood  is  car- 
ried, but  the  blood  stream  of  one  flows  in 
an  opposite  direction  to  that  of  the  other. 
At  various  points  in  the  body,  more  es- 
pecially at  the  places  farthest  away  from 
the  heart,  are  little  hair-like  canals,  or 
tubes,  arranged  in  a  sort  of  network.  They 
connect  the  arteries  and  veins.  These 
little  blood  vessels  form  the  'third  set  and 
are  called  capillaries. 

The  Arteries. — The  arteries  or  blood 
tubes  that  carry  the  blood  from  the  heart 
to  the  various  parts  of  the  body,  have 
strong,  tight,  and  tough  sides,  or  walls, 
so  that  they  cannot  easily  leak  or  burst. 
These  walls  of  the  arteries  contain  many 

FIGURE  37.— Large  Arteries    little  muscles  that  make  them  larger  or 
of  the  Leg.  smaller,  as  the  case  may  be,  according  to 

the  amount  of  blood  required  to  be  conveyed  to  the  different 

parts  of  the  body. 


THE  BLOOD   AND  ITS   CIRCULATION. 


Ill 


Capillaries. — While  the  arteries  are  quite  large  near  the 
heart,  they  divide  and  subdivide  as  they  leave  the  heart,  and 
go  toward  the  extremities,  until  they 
have  separated  into  a  large  number  of 
very  fine  tubes  called  capillaries.  The 
network  of  the  capillaries  is  so  fine 
and  delicate  that  they  touch  every  cell 
of  the  living  body.  You  cannot  prick 
through  the  skin  with  a  needle,  or  cut 
your  finger  even  very  slightly,  with- 
out tearing  the  walls  of  some  of  these 
little  capillaries  and  causing  the  blood 
to  appear  on  the  skin.  The  walls  of 
the  capillaries  are  not  so  tough,  thick, 
and  tight  as  those  of  the  arteries.  In- 
deed they  are  very  thin,  so  that  the 
fluid  part  of  the  blood,  the  plasma, 
containing  food,  can  soak  or  seep 
through  to  every  little  particle  of  nerve, 
muscle,  and  bone  near  them.  Even 
some  of  the  white  corpuscles  are  able 
to  squeeze  their  way  through  the  side 
walls  of  the  capillaries  to  places  where 
they  are  needed  to  do  the  repair  work. 
The  tubes  are  as  small  as  the  finest  hairs, 

and  the  red  corpuscles  can  just  squeeze  their  way  through 
toward  the  ends  of  the  veins. 

The  Veins. — The  capillaries  again  come  together  and  form 
larger  tubes,  called  veins.     The  veins  increase  in  size  the  nearer 


FIGURE  38.— Veins  of  the  Leg. 


112 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


FIGURE  39.— Valves  of  the 
Veins.    A,   vein  spread 


they  are  to  the  heart.  They  carry  the  blood  from  the  various 
parts  of  the  body  to  the  heart.  The  blood  in  the  veins 
contains  mugh  waste  matter  and  poison- 
ous impurities  thrown  off  by  the  bodily 
tissues  through  which  it  flows.  The  veins 
are  all  provided  with  little  gates,  or  valves, 
that  open  only  in  one  direction.  These 
little  valves  are  so  arranged  that  they 
will  permit  the  impure  blood  to  flow  only 
toward  the  heart  (see  Fig.  39),  and  will 
not  let  any  of  this  poison-laden  blood  get 
back  to  the  cells  of  the  body,  which  the 
blood,  when  pure  in  the  arteries,  fed, 
apart;  B,  section  length-  swept,  and  cleaned.  Every  vein  is  found 

wise  through  the  vein.  «.»"?'•« 

close  to  the  artery  which  brought  the 

blood  to  it.  The  blood  is  kept  constantly  moving  in  the  tubes, 
but  only  in  one  direction — from  the  heart,  through  the  arteries, 
and  through  the  finely  branched  network  of  the  capillaries. 
These  then  merge  into  tiny  veins,  which  unite  to  form 
larger  veins,  through  which  the  blood  con- 
tinues its  journey  back  to  the  heart.  The 
various  parts  of  the  body  receive  a  supply  of 
blood  in  proportion  to  their  size  and  the  ex- 
tent to  which  they  are  used.  Thus,  the  brain 
weighs  but  one-forty-fifth  as  much  as  the  rest 
of  the  body,  but  uses  one-eighth  of  all  the 
blood  supply.  A  piece  of  bone  weighing  as 
much  as  the  brain  would  receive  very  li ttle  blood 

,  .  .  , .          FIGURE  40.— A.    Valve 

in  comparison,  because  bone  is  quite  inactive.  open<  B.  valve  closed. 


THE   BLOOD   AND   ITS   CIRCULATION. 


113 


Arterial  and  Venous  Blood  Compared When    the    red 

blood  corpuscles  have  a  plentiful  supply  of  oxygen,  they  are  of 
a  bright  red  color,  and  the  blood  in  which  they  flow  is  a  bright 
scarlet.  This  bright  blood  is  found  in  the  arteries,  and  is  called 
arterial  blood.  After  passing  through  the  capillaries,  these 
same  corpuscles  that  were 
bright  red  in  color  have  be- 
come dingy  and  dark,  because 
they  were  robbed  of  their 
loads  of  oxygen  by  the  tissue 
that  was  starving  for  the  life- 
giving  food,  and  were  loaded 
down  with  impurities  such 
as  carbonic  acid  gas  and  other 
poisons.  When  they  reach 
the  veins  they  give  the  blood 
a  darker,  bluish,  color.  The 
blood  found  in  the  veins  is 
called  venous  Hood.  Arterial 
blood  has  more  oxygen;  ven- 
ous blood  more  carbonic  acid. 
Arterial  blood  is  purer  than 

VenOUS  blood.     Arterial  blood  FIGURE  41.-The  Heart. 

brings  oxygen  to  the  tissues ;  venous  blood  takes  carbonic  acid 
back  to  the  heart  and  lungs,  where  it  is  gotten  rid  of  and  breathed 
out  or  exhaled  from  the  body.  The  blood  is  always  kept  mov- 
ing in  the  three  sets  of  blood  vessels  or  tubes — the  arteries,  the 
capillaries,  and  the  veins.  What  keeps  the  blood  in  constant 
motion  ? 

8 


114  GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

The  Heart. — If  you  place  your  hand  over  the  chest  a  little 
to  the  left  of  the  breast-bone,  you  will  find  your  heart  beating 
steadily  in  a  machine-like  manner.  The  heart  is  really  a  live 
pump  that  keeps  pumping  away  as  long  as  we  live.  If  it  stops 
pumping  we  die.  If  you  count  your  heart-beats  as  you  stand 
still,  you  will  find  that  there  are  about  eighty  per  minute. 

When  we  run  and  jump, 
or  go  rapidly  upstairs,  the 
heart  beats  much  faster 
than  when  standing  or  sit- 
ting. The  heart  is  made 
up  of  involuntary  mus- 
cles, and  is  almost  the 
size  of  its  owner's  tightly 
doubled  fist. 

The  heart  lies  to  the 
left  of  the  middle  of  the 
body,  and -just  below  the 
level  of  a  line  drawn  con- 

FIGURE  42.— Showing  Cavities  of  the  Heart. 

necting  your  two  armpits. 

The  heart  has  four  chambers  or  cavities.  First,  it  is  divided 
lengthwise  by  a  firm,  tough  muscle  wall  so  as  to  make  two  bags. 
Each  half  is  a  complete  bag,  and  each  is  also  a  complete  pump. 
The  lower  part  of  each  side  of  the  heart  is  called  a  ventricle, 
while  the  upper  portion  of  each  half  is  called  an  auricle.  The 
middle  muscle  wall  that  divides  the  heart  lengthwise  from  the 
base  of  the  point,  or  apex,  has  no  direct  openings,  so  that  the 
ventricles  are  not  connected  with  each  other,  and  the  auricles 
elo  not  open  into  each  other.  Each  ventricle  has  two  openings. 


THE   BLOOD   AND   ITS   CIRCULATION. 


115 


The  gateway  at  the  upper  part  of  each  ventricle  opens  from  the 
auricle  just  above.  This  hole  has  a  valve-like  gateway,  which 
is  easily  and  tightly  closed  by  two  curtains.  An  opening  in 
the  side  furnishes  a  passageway  into  an  artery.  The  blood 
cannot  get  back  from  the  ventricle  into  the  auricle.  As  soon 
as  the  ventricle  becomes  filled 
with  blood,  the  muscles  that 
form  its  walls  contract,  mak- 
ing the  ventricle  smaller. 
This  squeezes  out  the  blood 
so  that  it  goes  into  an  artery. 
Course  of  the  Blood 

Through   the  Heart You 

can  follow  the  course  of  the 
blood  as  it  passes  through 
the  heart  by  closely  observ- 
ing the  accompanying  dia- 
gram. The  venous  blood 
first  enters  the  heart  at  the 
right  upper  chamber,  or  ante- 
room, Called  the  right  auricle,  FIGURE  43.-A  diagram,  showing  Course  of  the 

Blood  Through  the  Heart. 

and  passes  down  through  the 

valve-like  gateway  into  the  right  ventricle.  The  right  ventricle, 
by  suddenly  squeezing  itself  when  it  becomes  filled,  sends  the 
blood  to  the  lungs  to  come  in  contact  with  the  air  we  have 
inhaled,  and  the  blood  thus  becomes  purified  and  bright 
red  again,  the  corpuscles  having  rid  themselves  of  their  load 
of  poisonous  carbonic  acid,  and  having  taken  up  a  fresh  load 
of  oxygen  from  the  air.  This  purified  and  enriched  blood  then 


116  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

passes  to  the  left  auricle,  the  upper  chamber  at  the  left  side  of  the 
heart.  From  here  it  passes  into  the  left  ventricle,  which,  as  soon 
as  it  becomes  filled,  suddenly  squeezes  its  muscle  walls  together 
and  forces  this  new  arterial  blood  to  the  various  parts  of  the 
body  through  the  arteries  and  capillaries,  from  which  it  passes 
through  the  veins  back  to  the  heart  to  take  thfe  same  journey 
over  again.  It  takes  from  twenty  to  thirty  seconds  to  send  a 
drop  of  blood  on  such  a  "round  trip"  as  we  have  described. 

Why  the  Heart  Beats — You  have  learned  that  food,  water, 
and  oxygen  are  taken  into  the  blood,  and  that  this  "  vital  fluid  " 
contains  all  the  food  needed  to  repair  the  wasted  tissues  as  they 
wear  out  from  constant  use.  But  if  the  blood  simply  remained 
in  one  place,  and  was  not  forced  about,  it  would  not  do  any 
good.  It  would  soon  get  rid  of  its  food,  become  loaded  with 
poisons  from  the  waste  substances,  and  the  various  parts  of 
the  body  would  gradually  die.  You  have  noticed,  if  you  ever 
wrapped  a  rubber  band  or  thread  tightly  around  your  finger, 
that  the  part  thus  shut  off  from  the  active  blood  coursing  to  and 
fro  from  the  heart,  became  so  numb  and  cold  that  it  was  prac- 
tically "  dead."  If  the  blood  stood  still,  every  part  of  the  body 
would  be  quickly  affected  in  the  same  way.  The  heart  beats 
in  order  to  keep  the  blood  in  continual  motion.  It  does  not 
make  as  much  noise  as  does  the  snorting  fire-engine  as  it  squirts 
the  stream  of  water  over  the  fire,  but  it  does  its  work  just  as 
effectively.  The  heart  has  two  important  nerves  connected 
with  it  that  regulate  the  rapidity  of  its  beats.  One  nerve 
causes  the  heart  to  go  faster,  as  when  we  have  been  jumping 
or  running,  or  going  upstairs  in  a  hurry.  The  other  nerve 
makes  the  heart  slow  up  if  it  tries  to  go  too  fast.  These  two 


THE   BLOOD   AND   ITS   CIRCULATION.  117 

nerves  are  the  heart's  regulators,  in  the  same  sense  as  a  watch 
or  clock  has  its  regulators  to  fix  its  rate  of  movement. 

Why  the  Heart  is  Double — The  heart  is  wisely  arranged 
in  having  two  similar  sides,  or  halves.  The  one  half  receives 
the  blood  from  the  body  and  sends  it  to  the  lungs  to  get  oxy- 
gen from  the  air.  While  the  right  auricle  and  ventricle  are 
thus  occupied,  the  left  side  is  busy  sending  the  newly  enriched 
blood  to  the  various  parts  of  the  body,  and  in  this  way  the 
heart  is  enabled  to  do  double  the  amount  of  work  it  could  do, 
if,  like  the  heart  of  a  fish,  it  had  but  one  auricle  and  one 
ventricle.  The  walls  of  the  left  ventricle  are  thicker  and 
stronger  than  those  of  the  right  ventricle.  This  is  because 
more  force  is  required  to  send  the  blood  from  the  left  ventricle 
to  the  remote  parts  of  the  body  than  is  required  to  send  it 
from  the  right  ventricle  to  the  lungs. 

The  Amount  of  Work  the  Heart  Does. — We  can  hardly 
realize  the  amount  of  work  this  busy  little  organ  does  each 
day  and  hour  in  keeping  us  alive.  The  heart  beats,  on  an 
average,  more  than  four  thousand  times  an  hour,  and  about  a 
hundred  thousand  times  a  day.  If  all  the  force  exerted  by 
the  heart  in  a  single  hour  was  used  at  one  time,  it  would  be 
enough  to  lift  a  big  load,  for  it  would  raise  over  ten  thousand 
pounds  a  foot  from  the  ground. 

The  Heart  Rests — All  the  tissues  of  the  body  to  be  kept 
in  healthy  condition  must  have  rest.  The  heart  has  its  time  to 
rest.  It  does  not  have  long  recesses  such  as  you  have  in  your 
school.  Each  recess  is  no  longer  than  the  time  required  by 
you  to  wink  your  eye.  After  each  part  has  done  its  work  by 
contracting  its  walls,  it  rests  just  an  instant  before  it  contracts 


118  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

again,  just  as  in  walking  one  leg  rests  while  the  other  is  being 
used  in  taking  a  step.  The  rest  periods  of  the  heart  are  ex- 
tremely short,  only  six-elevenths  of  a  second,  but  if  all  the  little 
short  recesses  were  added  up  together  it  would  make  a  total 
time  of  about  thirteen  hours  each  day.  Are  you  not  glad  that 
the  heart  does  not  take  all  its  rest  at  one  time  ?  What  would 
happen  if  it  did  so  ?  Is  it  not  fortunate  that  the  heart  is  a 
self-acting,  involuntary  muscle,  instead  of  a  voluntary  one  that 
had  to  be  continually  ordered  to  do  its  work,  as  we  must  do  in 
the  case  of  the  hand  or  arm?  How  wide  awake  we  would 
have  to  be  to  keep  the  heart  going !  We  would  have  no  time 
to  do  anything  else — no  time  to  do  any  work  or  engage  in  any 
play.  We  would  never  have  a  moment's  sleep  or  rest,  and  be- 
sides we  would  not  be  able  to  keep  it  going  regularly,  and  thus 
would  not  keep  the  body  healthy.  Nature  has  certainly 
acted  wisely  in  making  the  heart  self-acting. 

How  Fast  the  Heart  Beats — Sometimes  the  heart  beats 
more  rapidly,  at  other  times  more  slowly.  The  heart  is  very 
easily  influenced  by  our  thoughts,  our  feelings,  and  the  various 
physical  activities.  You  know  that  it  beats  faster  when  we  run 
upstairs,  jump  the  rope,  or  run  to  the  bases  in  playing  ball, 
than  when  we  stand  still.  It  beats  faster  when  we  are  stand- 
ing than  when  we  are  sitting;  faster  when  we  are  sitting 
than  when  we  are  lying  down ;  faster  when  we  are  awake 
than  when  we  are  asleep.  The  more  active  we  are,  the  more 
rapidly  does  the  heart  work.  Why  ?  Because  when  we  are 
more  active  the  tissues  of  the  body  wear  away  more  rapidly, 
more  waste  matter  and  impurities  are  thrown  off,  and  more 
fresh,  pure  blood  is  required  by  the  parts  of  the  body  that 


THE   BLOOD   AND   ITS   CIRCULATION.  110 

have  been  so  actively  engaged,  and  the  heart  must  pump  the 
blood  -  faster  to  accomplish  this. 

Effect  of  Mental  Activity  on  the  Heart's  Action — Like- 
wise, mental  activity  affects  the  rapidity  with  which  the  heart 
does  its  work.  The  kind  of  mental  activity  also  makes  a  differ- 
ence. The  heart  beats  differently  when  we  are  engaged  in 
reading  a  piece  of  poetry  than  when  we  are  adding  a  column  of 
figures.  When  engaged  in  hard  study  and  severe  mental  work, 
there  is  more  fatigue  poison  going  from  the  tired  brain  into  the 
blood  than  when  the  brain  has  but  a  small  amount  of  work  to 
do.  Excessive  mental  activity  makes  the  heart  work  faster 
in  pumping  fresh  blood  to  the  brain,  just  as  great  physical 
activity  makes  it  send  the  blood  more  rapidly  to  the  various 
parts  of  the  body.  Excitement,  as  in  happiness,  joy,  anger, 
and  fright,  makes  the  heart  beat  rapidly.  In  sorrow,  sadness, 
grief,  or  low  spirits,  it  beats  more  slowly. 

In  Fever. — When  one  has  a  fever  the  heart  beats  more 
rapidly  than  when  one  is  well,  because  more  poison  is  thrown 
off  into  the  blood  by  the  various  tissues  of  the  body,  and  the 
heart  works  faster  to  do  the  extra  work.  When  the  fever  is 
very  severe  and  the  temperature  of  the  body  very  high,. the 
heart  cannot  make  the  blood  carry  off  these  poisons  fast  enough, 
and  some  of  the  poisons  and  impure  waste  matters  gather  on 
the  surface  of  the  brain,  making  the  fevered  patient  delirious. 

The  Pulse. — The  pumping  of  the  heart  makes  the  blood  go 
through  the  arteries  in  spurts  or  waves.  At  some  places  in  the 
body  large  arteries,  which  are  usually  buried  very  deeply  in 
the  muscles,  come  near  the  surface.  If  the  finger  is  placed  on 
the  skin  at  one  of  these  points,  these  distinct  waves  can  be  felt 


120  GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

at  each  beat  of  the  heart.  This  is  called  feeling  the  pulse.  In 
men  there  are,  on  an  average,  about  seventy  pulse-beats  a 
minute.  In  women  the  heart  beats  more  rapidly  than  in  men, 
making  about  eighty  beats  per  minute.  In  old  age  it  beats 
more  slowly  than  in  middle  life,  while  in  very  young  children 
there  are  often  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  thirty  pulse-beats 
a  minute.  Feel  your  pulse  at  the  wrist  or  temple,  and  count 
the  beats  for  one  minute  while  you  are  sitting.  Then  rise  and 
walk  rapidly  once  around  the  room  and  compare  the  result  with 
what  you  got  while  sitting.  Also  compare  the  pulse  before  and 
after  eating  a  meal.  Why  does  the  physician  feel  the  pulse  of 
a  sick  person? 

Sounds  of  the  Heart — The  action  of  the  heart  is  almost 
noiseless.  Yet,  if  you  place  your  ear  directly  over  a  person's 
heart,  you  will  observe  that  each  time  the  heart  beats  it  makes 
two  sounds.  One  sound  quickly  follows  the  other,  and  there  is 
a  short  period  of  silence.  These  two  sounds  are  not  exactly 
like  each  other,  but  in  a  healthy  person  each  of  the  sounds  has 
its  own  peculiar  character.  The  first  of  the  two  sounds  is  a 
comparatively  long,  booming  sound;  the  second  is  a  short, 
sharp,  sudden  one.  In  certain  diseases  of  the  heart,  the  char- 
acter of  these  sounds  becomes  changed  into  a  murmur  or  rum- 
bling sound,  so  that  a  physician  can  tell  by  listening  to  the  heart 
sounds  whether  this  important  organ  is  diseased  or  not. 
i  Fainting. — Sometimes  the  heart  beats  with  little  force,  or 
even  stops  beating  for  a  brief  period,  and  all  parts  of  the  body 
immediately  begin  to  suffer.  The  brain,  while  it  weighs  but 
one-forty-fifth  of  the  rest  of  the  body,  uses  one-eighth  of  the 
total  blood  supply  in  the  body.  This  being  the  case,  it  is  natu- 


THE  BLOOD  AM)  ITS  CIRCULATION. 

rally  the  first  to  suffer  from  the  weak  action  or  stopping  of 
the  heart,  even  for  a  very  brief  period.  When  the  brain  is 
thus  affected,  and  is  starving  for  pure  blood,  the  mind  at  onse 
stops  acting  and  the  person  faints.  His  face  becomes  very 
pale  because  it  has  little  blood,  and  he  is  as  senseless  as  in  the 
deepest  sleep.  For  this  reason,  when  a  person  faints,  we  lay 
him  down  with  the  head  low,  so  that  the  blood  can  get  to  the 
brain,  and  we  rub  vigorously  the  arms  and  legs  toward  the  body, 
so  as  to  compel  the  blood  to  go  to  his  heart,  and  thus  start 
this  organ  to  begin  its  work  again.  By  throwing  cold  water  in 
the  face  of  the  person  who  has  fainted,  we  make  his  heart  beat 
harder.  Very  quickly  the  person  revives,  and  is  soon,  appa- 
rently, as  well  as  ever. 


THE    LYMPHATICS. 

The  lymphatic  system  consists  of  lymph  spaces,  lymph  tubes, 
and  lymphatic  glands.  The  lymph  spaces  are  minute  chinks  or 
crevices  within  the  tissues  in  all  parts  of  the  body.  The  lymph 
tubes  open  out  from  the  lymph  spaces,  uniting  into  larger 
tubes  with  valves  very  similar  to  those  in  the  veins.  (See 
page  112.)  The  main  lymph  tube  is  called  the  thoracic  duct. 
Through  it  is  conveyed  all  of  the  lymph  except  that  from  the 
right  side  of  the  head,  neck,  chest,  and  the  right  arm,  and  it 
empties  into  the  veins  at  the  left  side  of  the  neck.  The  right 
lymph  duct,  which  drains  the  smaller  portion  of  the  body  as 
above  indicated,  empties  into  the  veins  at  the  right  side  of  the 
neck.  The  lymphatic  glands  are  little  kernel-like  masses  along 
the  lymph  tubes  through  which  the  lymph  passes. 


122 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


The  Lymph — Leaving  the  red  corpuscles  behind  in  the 
blood  vessels,  the  fluid  that  leaks  through  to  feed  the  tissues  of 
the  body  4s  colorless.  This  becomes 
the  lymph.  It  is  really  the  blood 
minus  the  red  corpuscles.  Very  little 
of  it  can  soak  back  into  the  blood  tubes 
because  of  the  pressure  of  the  blood 
within  the  vessels,  caused  by  the 
heart's  continual  pumping,  which  forces 
the  blood  through  the  arteries.  To 
take  this  lymph  back  to  the  heart,  this 
other  set  of  tubes,  called  lymphatics,  is 
required. 

The  lymph  always  flows  in  one 
direction  only — toward  the  heart.  These 
tubes,  then,  that  convey  the  lymph  are 
like  drain-pipes.  They  take  up  the 
fluid  that  has  soaked  out  of  the  thin 
walls  of  the  small  blood  vessels,  and 
which  bathes  and  feeds  the  tissues,  and 
convey  it  away  to  be  again  poured  into 
the  blood  at  the  large  vein  in  the  neck. 
It  naturally  contains  much  waste  mat- 
ter thrown  off  by  the  tissues,  and 

FIGURE  ^-Lymphatic  System    mugt  gQ  through  the   heart  along  wifch 

the  venous  blood  to  be  again  made 

pure.     The  entire  plan  of  the  lymphatic  system  is  to  furnish  a 
means  of  drainage  for  the  body. 

In  the  disease  known  as  dropsy,  the  lymphatic  vessels  do 


THE  BLOOD  AND  ITS   CIRCULATION.  123 

not  work  properly,  and  the  tissues  are  filled  with  the  fluid 
almost  to  bursting.  The  flesh  in  such  a  person  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  piece  of  very  wet,  soggy,  marshy  land,  the  drain  tiles 
of  which  are  not  in  order,  and  do  their  work  imperfectly. 

The  Work  Performed  by  the  Lymph. — The  lymph  is  derived 
from  the  blood  and  is  full  of  the  proper  food  for  the  bodily 
tissues.  Its  work  is  to  deliver  to  these  tissues  just  the  material 
needed  to  keep  up  health  and  the  proper  activity.  After  it 
delivers  these  food  materials  it  must  take  up  what  is  left,  and 
what  can  be  used  by  some  other  organ,  as  well  as  the  waste 
products  from  the  tissue  cells.  The  office  of  the  lymphatics, 
then,  is  to  take  up  and  carry  from  the  tissues  to  the  veins  all 
the  material  that  the  tissues  do  not  need.  The  tissue  cells  of 
the  body  get  all  their  nourishment  from  the  lymph,  and  into  the 
lymph  they  must  throw  their  waste  matter. 

The  Spleen — The  spleen  is  an  oblong,  flat  body  that  lies 
upon  the  left  side  of  the  stomach,  and  varies  in  size  at  different 
periods  of  life.  Its  size  is  increased  after  digestion,  and  is 
always  large  in  well-fed  and  small  in  starved  animals.  In  some 
diseases,  such  as  ague,  a  very  noticeable  enlargement  of  the 
spleen  takes  place,  and  this  is  the  so-called  "  ague  cake,"  of 
which  doctors  sometimes  speak. 

The  spleen  is  a  reddish'gray,  pulpy  mass,  and  while  the 
body  has  been  carefully  studied  for  many  years,  it  is  not  yet 
known  what  work  the  spleen  really  has  to  do.  It  forms  no 
secretion  to  be  poured  into  any  cavity  like  the  liver  and 
other  glands.  In  case  of  accident  and  disease  it  has  been 
removed  by  the  surgeon's  knife,  and  life  continues  without 
any  serious  results. 


124  CHAJDED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

Massage. — By  massage  we  mean  a  system  of  either  gently  or 
vigorously  rubbing,  pressing,  or  kneading  the  muscles.  This 
greatly  helps  the  flow  of  the  blo6*d  and  lymph,  and  by  thus 
assisting  circulation,  does  much  toward  washing  out  the  waste 
particles  of  the  body  that  can  be  affected  by  this  rubbing  of 
the  skin.  Massage,  in  a  measure,  takes  the  place  of  exercise. 
People  who  are  sick  and  weak  cannot  take  the  exercise  they 
should,  and  massage  rubbing  will  prove  a  good  substitute.  It 
is  an  excellent  thing  for  any  one  to  rub  the  body  with  the  hands 
or  a  dry  towel,  especially  if  it  is  impossible  to  take  the  exer- 
cise his  health  requires.  A  "dry  rub"  is  thus  frequently  as 
beneficial  to  health  as  a  bath. 

The  Circulation  Modified  by  Alcoholic  Drinks. — Alcohol 
diminishes  the  capacity  of  the  blood  to  absorb  oxygen.  It 
decreases  the  working  power  and  lowers  the  temperature  of 
the  body.  Alcoholic  drinks  make  the  blood  poorer  in  quality 
and  thus  impair  the  nutrition  of  the  tissues. 

The  tendency  of  alcohol  is  to  cause  fatty  matter  to  be 
deposited  in  the  walls  of  the  arteries,  taking  the  place  of  the 
tough  elastic  material  that  should  form  these  walls  throughout. 
By  this  action  of  alcohol  the  artery  is  weakened.  At  the  places 
where  the  fatty  matter  collects  the  walls  of  the  artery  are 
stretched  by  blood  pressure,  they  become  thin,  and  there  is  a 
pronounced  bulging.  This  bulging  of  the  arteries  is  called  an 
aneurism.  Eventually  it  may  burst  and  the  person  bleed  to 
death.  Alcoholic  drinks,  as  a  rule,  excite  the  heart  and  hurry 
its  beat.  The  time  of  rest  between  heart  beats  is  thereby 
shortened.  The  heart  is  overworked.  An  overworked  heart 
in  time  naturally  becomes  a  diseased  heart. 

Tobacco  always  tends  to  make  the  action  of  the  heart 
irregular  and  less  vigorous. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BREATHING  AND  THE  LUNGS. 

You  remember  that  oxygen  is  a  necessary  food  that  the 
little  red  corpuscles  carry  all  through  the  body.  From  this  you 
know  that  plenty  of  air  is  as  necessary  as  the  food  we  eat. 
Without  food,  men  have  lived  more  than  a  month.  Without 
water,  one  can  live  a  few  days.  Without  air,  one  can  live  only 
a  few  minutes.  All  living  things  breathe.  The  plant  breathes 
by  means  of  its  bark  and  leaves.  The  little  insect,  or  the  tiny 
ant,  depends  for  its  existence  upon  air  as  much  as  you  do.  The 
angle  worm,  which  you  may  have  used  to  bait  your  hook  when 
fishing,  breathes  through  its  skin.  In  human  beings  there 
is  a  very  beautiful  and  perfect  arrangement  by  means  of 
which  the  air  needed  for  life  and  health  may  be  plentifully 
supplied. 

Why  We  Breathe. — You  remember  that  in  the  last  chapter 
we  were  told  that  the  bright  red,  pure  blood  was  carried  by  the 
arteries  to  every  part  of  the  body.  As  this  blood  goes  through 
the  arteries  it  gives  up  its  food  to  each  part  as  needed.  The 
blood  then  becomes  darkened  by  the  impurities  it  takes  up,  as 
well  as  because  of  the  oxygen  the  little  red  corpuscles  have 
given  off,  and  is  carried  back  to  the  heart  through  the  veins. 
But  the  heart  cannot  send  this  used,  impure,  and  poisonous 
blood  back  to  the  different  parts  of  the  body.  So,  as  soon  as 

125 


126 


GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


WINDPIPE 


the  blood  gets  into  the  right  ventricle  of  the  heart,  it  is  forced, 
by  the  heart's  pumping  movements,  to  the  lungs.  In  the  lungs 
the  dark,  impure  blood  is-  changed  jp  bright,  pure  blood  again. 
The  lungs,  then,  are  very  important  organs,  since,  by  means  of 
them,  the  blood  is  purified  and  again  rendered  fit  for  use.  We 
shall  study  the  lungs  and  their  work  in  this  chapter. 

Can  you  see  any  veins  in  the  back  of  your  hand  which  look 
like  blue  lines  under  the  skin  ?     As  you  examine  them  you  find 

that  theyt  are  blue  or  purplish 
in  color.  Certainly  they  do 
not  appear  to  be  bright  red. 
But  if  you  cut  your  finger,  or 
prick  it  with  a  sharp  needle, 
the  blood  that'  comes  out  is 
bright  red.  What  has  changed 
it  from  the  dark  blue  or  purple 
color  to  red  ?  The  air.  Just 
the  instant  the  air,  or  rather 
the  oxygen  it  contains,  comes 
in  contact  with  the  blood,  it 
changes  it  to  bright  red.  The 
lungs  have  for  their  special 
work  the  carrying  of  the  air  to  the  blood  without  interfering 
with  its  circulation  through  the  body.  How  is  this  done  ?  In 
the  lungs  the  air  gets  very  near  the  dark,  impure  blood,  feeds  it 
oxygen  and  changes  its  color  to  a  bright  red  by  mixing  with  it. 
The  blood  gets  fresh  air  from  the  lungs,  and  in  turn  gives  up 
.to  the  lungs  certain  impurities  that  have  been  collected  in 
passing  through  the  body.  These  are  sent  out  from  the  body 


DESCENDING 
AORTA 


FIGURE  45.— The  Lungs  and  Heart,  front 
view. 


BREATHING  AND   THE   LUNGS.  127 

when  we  exhale  air,  just  as  oxygen  is  brought  to  the  blood 
when  we  inhale  fresh  air. 

How  We  Breathe. — We  must  now  study  more  closely  this 
important  work  of  the  lungs.  In  breathing,  air  is  taken  in 
through  the  nose  to  the  back  part  of  the  mouth  (called  the 
pharynx),  and  through  a  tube  in  the  neck  to  the  lungs.  This 
tube  in  the  neck  is  close  up  against  the  food-pipe,  or  esophagus, 
and  is  called  the  windpipe,  or  trachea.  If  you  feel  the  front 
of  the  neck  with  the  fingers  and  thumb,  you  will  easily  dis- 
cover the  windpipe.  It  is  a  pile  of  hard  rings  one  on  top  of 
another.  These  are  not  completed  rings  but  are  C-shaped,  or  like 
horseshoes.  They  are  arranged  on  top  of  each  other  with  the 
opening  of  the  horseshoe  toward  the  back  of  the  neck. 

The  windpipe  first  divides  into  two  main  air  tubes,  each 
called  a  Ironchus.  This  division  occurs  four  or  five  inches  below 
flie  back  part  of  the  mouth.  One  of  the  bronchi,  or  large  air 
tubes,  goes  to  each  lung.  Below  this  main  division  the  air 
tubes  divide  again  and  again,  many  times,  until  we  have  the 
finest  possible  air  tubes,  like  the  little,  fine,  netted  veins  of 
a  maple  leaf.  At  the  end  of  each  of  these  little  tubes  is  a  tiny 
air  sac.  There  are  thousands  upon  thousands  of  these  air  sacs, 
and  together  they  make  up  the  two  lungs.  A  lung  is  a  soft, 
spongy  piece  of  flesh  made  up  of  a  collection  of  air  sacs.  Each 
air  sac  of  the  lung  is  like  a  little  toy  balloon,  filled  with  air  each 
time  we  inhale.  You  feel  and  see  your  chest  expand  as  each 
one  of  these  thousands  of  air  sacs  is  filled.  When  the  breath 
rushes  out  as  we  exhale,  the  chest  falls  again.  Take  a  tape 
line  and  see  how  many  inches  you  measure  around  your  chest 
when  you  inhale  and  fill  the  lungs — every  air  sac — with  all  the 


128 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 


air  they  can  contain.     Now  exhale  every  particle  of  air  that 

you  can,  and  measure  your  chest  to  see  how  much  smaller  it  is. 

The  lungs  fill  the  upper  part,jof  the  body  just  below  the 


Voice-box 


FIGURE  46.— The  Air  Tubes  and  Air  Cells. 

neck,  and  are  covered  by  the  bony  framework  of  the  ribs.  They 
rest  on  a  broad  band  of  tough  muscle,  called  the  diaphragm. 
The  upper  part  of  the  trunk  above  this  muscle  is  called  the 
chest,  and  contains  the  heart  and  lungs.  The  lower  part,  that 
below  the  diaphragm,  is  called  the  abdomen,  and  contains  the. 


BREATHING  AND  THE  LUNGS.         129 

intestines,  stomach,  and  liver.  The  diaphragm  is  a  partition 
made  of  muscle,  the  edges  of  which  are  attached  to  the  lower 
ribs.  This  partition  between  the  chest  and  abdomen  is  not 
straight  across,  but  dome-shaped  or  arched  upwards. 

The  Two  Breaths — In  inhaling,  the  arch  of  the  dome-like 
diaphragm  is  lowered,  the  ribs 
bend  outwardly,  and  the  air 
rushes  in  through  the  nose  and 
swells  out  the  lungs  to  the  size 
of  the  chest.  This  is  called  in- 
spiration. Then  the  chest  again 
becomes  smaller  by  the  ribs  bend- 
ing in  toward  the  backbone  to 
their  former  position,  and  by  the  FIGURE  47.— illustrating  the  position  of 
diaphragm  arching  itself  higher  the  dia?hragm  in  expiration  and 

inspiration. 

to  its  former  shape  and  expelling 

the  air  from  the  lungs.  This  out-breathing  is  called  expiration. 
The  action  of  the  lungs  is  very  much  like  that  of  a  pair  of  bellows. 
When  you  take  a  long  breath  the  air  rushes  into  the  lungs  just 
as  it  does  into  the  bellows,  and  you  feel  your  chest  expand  as  the 
little  air  sacs  are  filled,  just  as  you  see  the  bellows  at  the  black- 
smith's shop  get  larger  when  they  are  filling  with  air.  When  the 
breath  is  forced  out  by  the  contracting  chest,  we  have  the  same 
sort  of  thing  that  occurs  when  the  blacksmith  pulls  on  the  han- 
dles of  the  bellows,  making  them  force  the  air  out.  Your  dog 
pants  noisily  and  rapidly  after  running  a  considerable  distance. 
Does  it  not  remind  you  of  a  small,  noisy  pair  of  quick-acting 
bellows  ? 

An  adult  breathes  about  eighteen  times  a  minute.     That 
9 


130 


GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


is,  one  breath  is  taken  to  every  four  beats  of  the  heart.  We 
do  not  seem  to  rest  in  breathing,  but  inasmuch  as  the  breath- 
ing muscles  work  only  during  iirspiration,  and  not  in  the  act 
of  expiration,  they  rest  about  half  the  time.  The  lungs  like 
the  heart  work  very  hard,  and  we  should  give  them  plenty  of 

room  by  avoiding 'tight  clothing. 
They  should  also  have  plenty  of 
fresh  air  that  their  work  may  be 
made  as  easy  as  possible. 

The  Nostrils  and  Soft  Palate. 
—The  air  finds  its  way  back  to  the 
lungs  through  the  mouth,  or  the 
two  openings  of  the  nose,  which 
are  called  nostrils.      We    should 
breathe  through  the  nose  rather 
than  through  the  mouth,  for  rea- 
sons   that    will   be    stated   later. 
FIGURE  48.-showing  a  group  of  Air   ™ne  nostrils  are  air-passages  lead- 

Cells,  greatly  magnified.  .        ,       ,    ,.,  mi 

ing  back  through  the  nose.    These 

again  come  together  in  an  open  space  at  the  roof  of  the  mouth 
behind  the  soft  curtain  that  hangs  down  at  the  back  part. 
This  curtain  is  called  the  soft  palate.  Through  the  opening 
behind  the  soft  palate  the  air  passes  down  through  the  windpipe 
and  into  the  lungs. 

The  Windpipe  and  Air-Tubes. — You  have  already  learned 
that  the  large  tube,  called  the  windpipe,  extends  from  the 
root  of  the  tongue  down  into  the  chest  where  it  divides  into 
two  branches,  one  going  to  each  lung.  These  branches  are  sub- 
divided again  and  again  into  hundreds  of  little  branches,  until 


BREATHING   AND   THE   LUNGS.  131 

they  are  no  larger  than  the  finest  needle.  The  air-tubes  are 
called  the  bronchial  tubes,  and  at  the  end  of  each  is  a  group  of 
air  cells  such  as  you  see  enlarged  in  Figure  48,  where  they  are 
puffed  out  as  they  appear  when  filled  with  air.  You  observed, 
on  feeling  of  the  windpipe  at  your  throat  just  above  the  point 
of  "Adam's  apple,"  that  it  is  hard  and  gristly,  made  of  rings 
of  cartilage  piled  upon  each  other.  The  air-tubes,  even  some 
of  the  small  ones,  are  made  of  the  same  hard  rings,  but  in  the 
smallest  branches  they  disappear.  If  the  windpipe  were  a  soft 
tube  of  membrane,  like  the  esophagus,  it  could  not  be  kept 
open  continually  for  the  air  to  pass  through,  and  we  would 
smother  or  choke  to  death.  If  a  piece  of  tough  meat, 
improperly  chewed,  lodges  in  the  windpipe,  instead  of  the  eso- 
phagus, the  air  is  shut  off  from  the  lungs,  and  the  person  dies, 
unless,  by  means  of  the  fingers,  the  obstruction  is  pulled  out 
and  the  air  permitted  to  rush  into  the  lungs  before  it  is  too 
late.  In  some  diseases,  such  as  croup,  the  air-tubes  and  wind- 
pipe become  obstructed  with  an  exudate  or  mucus,  sometimes 
smothering  the  child  to  death.  "  If,  however,  in  such  a  case,  the 
person  so  afflicted  will  inhale  the  steam  from  slacking  lime, 
relief  quickly  comes,  for  this  steam  cuts  through  the  thick 
mucus,  or  phlegm,  and  opens  up  the  tubes  so  air  can  again 
get  to  the  lungs.  In  diphtheria  the  throat  sometimes  swells 
shut,  so  that  air  cannot  enter  the  windpipe.  Then  the  doctor 
saves  the  patient's  life  by  cutting  into  the  throat  and  inserting, 
through  the  muscles  of  the  neck  into  the  trachea,  a  glass  tube, 
which  serves  as  an  artificial  windpipe,  permitting  the  patient 
to  breathe  comfortably  until  the  throat  again  opens  to  permit 
the  passage  of  air  in  the  natural  way.  In  drowning,  water 


132  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

enters  the  lungs,  shutting  off  the  air,  producing  death  in  less 
than  five  minutes.  At  any  time  before  death  actually  takes 
place  life  can  be  restored  by  moans  of  artificial  respiration, 
which  will  be  described  in  a  later  chapter.  At  the  outer  end 
of  the  smallest  tubes  within  the  lungs,  next  to  the  tiny  air 
sacs,  there  are  no  rings  of  cartilage  to  keep  the  tubes  wide 
open,  but  little  muscular  fibers  instead,  As  a  result  of  disease 
these  fibers  sometimes  shrivel  and  contract,  making  the  tube 
opening  much  smaller,  and  it  is  sometimes  a  hard  matter  for 
the  suffering  patient  to  get  the  air  through  in  either  direction. 
This  condition  is  very  painful,  and  with  it  there  is  a  sense  of 
smothering.  The  disease  is  called  asthma.  In  the  disease 
known  as  pneumonia,  as  a  result  of  inflammation,  many  of  the 
little  air  sacs  are  filled  with  a  fluid.  This  fluid  is  often  in  so 
great  a  quantity  as  to  necessitate  its  being  drawn  off  from  the 
lungs  by  inserting  a  large,  hollow  needle,  in  order  to  save  life. 

Sounds  of  the  Chest. — The  lungs  make  certain  peculiar 
sounds  in  breathing.  In  health  the  sounds  are  quite  different 
from  what  they  are  in  lung  diseases.  The  doctor  listens  to 
these  sounds  to  tell  whether  the  lungs  are  healthy  or  not,  and 
in  this  way  can  detect  a  case  of  croup,  lung  fever,  or  pneumonia. 

The  Voice-Box — Close  under  the  chin  at  the  top  of  the 
windpipe  you  find  a  large  lump  which  moves  as  you  swallow. 
This  is  a  little  box  at  the  opening  of  the  windpipe,  and  is  made 
of  pieces  of  gristle  or  cartilage  almost  as  hard  as  bone.  It  is 
called  the  larynx,  or  voice-box,  because  by  means  of  it  we  are 
able  to  speak,  sing,  or  read  aloud.  Two  little  white  bands 
stretch  across  this  voice-box,  and  when  we  speak  these  bands 
or  cords  vibrate  as  do  the  strings  of  a  violin,  banjo,  or  piano. 


BREATHING  AND  THE  LUNGS. 


133 


These  little  bands  are  called  vocal  cords.  T^e  kind  of  sound 
we  make  depends  largely  on  the  tightness  with  which  these 
vocal  cords  are  stretched  within  the  voice-box. 


FIGURE  49.— A.  Appearance  of  the  Vocal  Cords  .in  singing  a  high  note.    B.  The  V- 
shaped  glottis  as  seen  in  quiet  breathing.    C.  Round  appearance  in  deep  breathing. 

The  Epiglottis. — At  the  top  of  the  larynx,  or  voice-box,  is 
located  a  peculiar  trap-door  which  can  open  or  shut  just  when 
it  should  do  so  without  our  thinking  especially  about  it.  It  is 
called  the  epiglottis,  and  closes  down  over  the  top  of  the  larynx 
whenever  we  swallow  anything,  keeping  food  and  drink  from 


134  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

entering  the  air-passages  of  the  lungs.  If  we  eat  or  drink  too 
rapidly,  this  little  trap-door  does  not  have  time  to  close  itself, 
and  thus  prevent  our  being  choked*  Did  you  ever  get  a  crumb 
in  your  windpipe?  How  it  made  you  cough!  But  this  cough- 
ing expelled  the  air  rapidly  from  your  lungs  and  forced  the 
crumb  up  into  your  throat  again. 

The  Pleura. — In  the  chest  the  lungs  are  covered  and 
enclosed  by  a  soft,  moist,  very  thin  membrane,  called  the  pleura. 
The  interior  of  the  chest  walls  is  also  lined  with  a  similar  mem- 
brane or  pleura.  In  a  healthy  condition  these  two  membranes 
keep  themselves  moist  by  continually  exuding  a  small  quantity 
of  fluid.  This  moisture  keeps  them  smooth,  and  when  they 
rub  together  as  we  breathe,  the  two  lungs  in  moving  are  not 
irritated,  and  breathing  is  painless  and  easy.  Sometimes,  as  a 
result  of  cold,  this  membrane  becomes  inflamed,  and  breathing 
becomes  exceedingly  painful  and  difficult.  This  disease  is 
known  as  pleurisy. 

Slow  Burning  within  the  Body — The  human  body  is  in 
many  respects  like  a  stove.  In  the  stove  we  put  fuel ;  the  fuel 
is  consumed,  and  we  get  heat.  In  the  body  we  consume  food 
as  fuel;  it  is  slowly  burned,  and  we  get  heat  from  this  food- 
fuel.  The  tissues  of  the  body  are  slowly  burning  or  oxidizing 
all  the  time,  that  is,  substances  from  the  bodily  tissues  unite 
with  the  oxygen  of  the  air. 

Put  a  piece  of  bread  into  a  hot  stove  and  it  quickly  burns. 
The  larger  part  of  it  passes  off  as  smoke  and  gases  into  the 
air.  Only  a  few  ashes  remain.  A  fire  to  burn  well  must  have 
plenty  of  air.  You  open  the  damper  of  the  stove  to  give  more 
air,  making  the  fire  burn  better.  Air  must  unite  with  some 


BREATHING  AND  THE  LUNGS.         135 

substance  in  every  fire,  else  there  would  be  no  burning,  and  no 
heat.  The  blood  carries  food  through  the  body,  and  its  red 
corpuscles  bring  the  important  element  of  air — oxygen — from 
the  lungs.  The  food  and  air  join  together  in  a  slow  process  of 
burning.  The  gases  (smoke)  are  carried  back  to  the  lungs  to 
be  forced  out  of  the  body.  The  ashes  are  gotten  rid  of  by 
means  of  the  skin  and  kidneys.  By  the  slow  burning  of  food 
within  the  body  the  proper  degree  of  warmth  is  kept  up,  and 
besides,  some  of  the  resulting  heat  is  turned  into  strength  by 
means  of  which  the  body  does  its  work,  just  as  the  steam- 
engine  gains  its  power  from  the  fuel  it  consumes.  The  amount 
of  heat  produced  in  the  body  in  a  single  day  is  the  same  that 
would  result  if  the  amount  of  food  daily  eaten  were  burned 
outside  the  body.  The  body  is  more  like  a  steam-engine  than 
a  stove,  for  both  have  the  power  of  motion.  Both  move,  both 
use  fuel  (food,  coal),  both  take  in  air,  both  are  warm,  both  give 
off  smoke.  In  the  body  the  smoke  is  invisible  except  on  a 
frosty  day,  but  in  both  it  is  quite  the  same  thing;  carbonic 
acid  gas  and  water  being  the  chief  things  which  make  the  smoke 
in  both  cases. 

The  Air — Before  and  After. — Fresh  air  contains  oxygen. 
Oxygen  sustains  life.  Carbonic  acid  gas  destroys  life.  We 
breathe  in  order  to  get  oxygen  from  the  air  into  our  bodies,  and 
to  drive  the  poisonous  carbonic  acid  gas  from  our  bodies  into 
the  air.  The  blood,  while  in  the  lungs,  unloads  the  carbonic 
acid  gas  and  other  impurities  it  has  collected  from  all  parts  of 
the  body  to  be  exhaled,  and  loads  up  with  oxygen  from  the  air 
that  has  just  been  freshly  inhaled.  Exhaled  air  contains,  then, 
certain  poisonous  matters.  1.  Carbonic  acid  gas.  2.  Invisible 


136  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

poisonous  gases  arising  from  decaying  animal  substance,  and 
called  "organic  waste  matter."  This  animal  substance  you  can 
readily  detect  by  its  odor  as  you  eliter  a  crowded  room  that  is 
not  properly  ventilated. 

In  each  breath,  then,  we  trade  something  that  is  life- 
destroying  (carbonic  acid  gas  and  organic  waste  matter)  for 
something  that  is  life-giving  (oxygen).  But  we  cannot  breathe 
pure  oxygen.  It  would  cause  too  rapid  burning  within  the 
body.  Hence,  in  the  air  we  breathe,  oxygen  is  diluted  by  being 
mixed  with  nitrogen.  There  is  a  very  small  amount  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas  in  the  air  we  inhale.  The  air  we  exhale  contains 
one  hundred  times  as  much  of  'this  poisonous  gas  as  the  air  we 
inhale.  In  each  breath,  we  rob  the  air  inhaled  of  one-fourth  of 
its  oxygen.  Look  at  this  table  which  shows  the  composition  of 
100  parts  of  inhaled  and  exhaled  air: 

Carbonic       Organic 
Oxygen.    Nitrogen.    Acid  Gas.  Waste  Matter. 

Inhaled  air 21  79  .04  0 

Exhaled  air     -----         16  79  4.00  1 

Nose  and  Mouth  Breathing  Compared. — It  is  a  very  harm- 
ful practice  to  breathe  through  the  mouth  instead  of  through 
the  nose.  Air  should  always  reach  the  lungs  through  the  nos- 
trils, which  are  devised  by  nature  to  strain  the  air,  to  warm  it, 
to  moisten  it  when  too  dry  for  the  lungs.  The  nostrils  being 
also  the  seat  of  the  sense  of  smell,  we  are  thus  warned  when  the 
air  is  impure.  If  a  person  persists  in  breathing  through  the 
mouth,  the  throat  becomes  dry,  cold  air  will  chill  the  warmer 
blood  in  the  capillaries  of  the  lungs,  and  the  particles  of  dust 
will  not  be  strained  out,  which  alone  may  cause  much  harm. 


BREATHING  AND   THE  LUNGS.  137 

If  one  breathes  through  the  mouth  habitually,  the  lungs  are 
sure  to  become  diseased.  One  of  the  easiest  ways  to  prevent 
taking  cold  is  to  breathe  through  the  nose. 

Adenoid  Growths. — In  the  back  part  of  the  nasal  passages, 
more  especially  in  rapidly  growing  children,  are  frequently 
found  in  little  grape-like  clusters,  a  form  of  growth  that 
obstructs  free  breathing  through  the  nose.  These  growths 
are  called  adenoids,  and  can  readily  be  removed  by  any  skillful 
physician.  They  should  never  be  allowed  to  remain,  for  they 
not  only  interfere  with  breathing,  but  they  cause  defective  hear- 
ing, which  is  just  as  great  a  misfortune  to  a  school  child  as 
defective  vision.  If  the  pupil  cannot  hear  the  teacher's  ques- 
tions perfectly  he  cannot  answer  them  correctly.  If  he  cannot 
hear  distinctly  the  teacher's  explanations,  how  can  he  have  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  problems  explained  ?  A  large  num- 
ber of  schools  have  wisely  arranged  to  test  the  vision  and  hear- 
ing of  all  the  pupils.  The  pupils  who  cannot  hear  well  or  are 
near-sighted  are  placed  in  the  front  part  of  the  room  where 
they  can  see  the  blackboard  or  hear  the  teacher's  explanations 
with  less  difficulty. 

As  a  result  of  habitual  mouth-breathing,  the  face  is  dis- 
torted, the  upper  lip  becomes  shortened  and  thickened,  the 
upper  teeth  stick  out,  and  the  face  loses  its  pleasant  expression. 
All  these  mouth-breathers  have  defective  hearing,  and  do  you 
know  that  many  true  cases  of  stupidity  in  school  children 
exist  in  connection  with  defective  hearing  and  mouth- 
breathing?  You  know  how  hard  it  is  to  give  attention  to 
study  when  you  have  such  a  severe  cold  that  the  nostrils 
are  "  stopped  up,"  and  for  the  time  you  can  breathe  only 


138  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

through  the  mouth.  The  habitual  mouth-breather  has  the 
same  uncomfortable  feeling  all  the  time.  He  cannot  study 
well.  He  cannot  give  the  best  attention.  A  physician 
should  always  be  consulted  when  mouth-breathing  has  become 
a  fixed  habit. 

One  Boy's  Debt. — From  several  hundred  letters  received 
by  me  from  teachers  and  school  superintendents,  I  select  the 
following  to  show  you  how  serious  adenoid  growths  are. 
Archie,  the  little  boy  mentioned  in  this  account,  entered 
the  first  primary  grade  at  the  age  of  six  years.  The  end  of 
each  succeeding  year,  for  four  years,  found  him  larger  and 
stronger  physically,  but  mentally  incapable  of  any  better  work 
than  he  did  in  his  first  school-year.  At  the  beginning  of  his 
fifth  year  the  teacher  was  obliged  to  continue  him  in  his  Sec- 
ond Eeader,  telling  him,  however,  that  he  still  ought  to  be  in 
his  Primer.  His  superintendent  says :  "  One  day  in  Novem- 
ber I  began  noticing  him.  There  he  was,  a  boy  eleven  years 
old,  sitting  idly,  his  under  jaw  hanging  down,  vacant-eyed,  and 
that  utterly  expressionless  face  which  we  find  in  idiots.  He 
seemed  to  take  no  interest  in  what  was  going  on  around  him ; 
when  called  upon  to  read  he  had  lost  his  place,  and  his  teacher 
scolded  him  for  what  she  supposed  was  carelessness.  The  next 
morning  I  found  Archie  in  one  of  the  stores  with  some  other 
children  looking  at  the  Christmas  toys  displayed  on  every  side. 
I  asked  him  what  he  wanted  Santa  Glaus  to  bring  him ;  he 
pointed  to  a  little  '  dumb  watch.'  But  I  said, '  Archie,  why 
not  wish  for  a  watch  like  mine  that  ticks  loud  and  runs.  Just 
listen,  now,  and  hear  my  watch  tick/  I  thus  tested  the  little 
fellow's  hearing,  and  found  that  he  could  hear  my  watch  tick 


BREATHING  AND  THE  LUNGS.  139 

only  when  within  a  few  indies  of  either  ear,  while  I  could  hear 
it  easily  at  twenty  feet.  I  felt  that  I  had  a  clew.  I  took  him  to 
my  own  physician,  who  examined  him,  finding  at  the  back 
of  the  nose  adenoid  growths,  which  had  affected  his  hearing; 
in  a  moment  he  removed  them,  and  the  boy  went  back  to 
school.  The  doctor  and  I  told  no  one  of  what  we  had  done, 
not  even  his  parents  or  his  teacher;  in  fact  I  did  not  mention 
it  in  my  home,  for  reasons  which  you  will  understand  later. 
In  about  three  weeks  from  the  time  the  operation  was  per- 
formed, my  little  son,  who  is  in  the  same  room  with  Archie, 
said  at  the  dinner-table,  '  Papa,  you  ought  to  •  see  how  fast 
Archie  is  learning;  he  gets  all  the  head  marks  in  spelling,  and 
he  beats  us  all  in  reading.'  His  teacher  next  came  to  me  and 
said, '  What  have  you  done  to  Archie  ?  His  improvement  is 
wonderful,  he  is  the  brightest  one  of  his  class/  I  explained 
what  had  been  done  for  the  poor  little  fellow  whom  we  had  so 
mistreated  for  almost  Jive  years.  At  the  close  of  this  term's 
work  Archie  stood  at  the  head  of  a  class  of  twenty-two;  for 
almost  five  years  he  had  been  at  the  foot." 

Foul  Air. — Air  may  be  polluted  in  various  ways.  The  fol- 
lowing sources  of  foul  air  are  among  the  most  common:  Cellar 
Air.  Cellars  are  kept  closed;  thus  no  light  and  but  little 
fresh  air  can  enter.  The  decaying  vegetable  matter  gives  off 
injurious  gases  that  cause  disease.  Disease  is  often  caused 
by  the  foul  air  arising  from  the  cellar  under  the  house.  Unless 
the  cellar  is  so  built  as  to  admit  sunlight  and  fresh  air,  and 
is  frequently  cleaned,  it  becomes  a  reservoir  of  foul  air,  capa- 
ble of  causing  much  sickness  that  could  be  avoided.  Coal  Gas 
is  frequently  used  in  towns  and  cities  for  lighting,  and  it  is  a 


140  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

deadly  poison  to  the  lungs.  It  sometimes  escapes  in  large 
quantities  from  leaky  gas-pipes,  or  it  may  be  sent  out  into  the 
room  by  a  stove  that  does  not  dr^w  well.  Great  care  should 
be  taken  to  prevent  coal  gas  from  mixing  with  the  air  we 
breathe,  especially  in  our  sleeping-rooms.  Death  by  asphyxia 
frequently  results  from  carelessness  in  this  respect.  Sewer  Gas 
is  a  poisonous  product  arising  within  the  drain-pipes  of  houses 
because  the  plumber  did  not  properly  construct  them.  In 
most  of  the  cities  and  towns  the  plumbing  of  houses  is  under 
some  sort  of  supervision  in  order  that  the  possibility  of  sewer 
gas  may  be  avoided,  thus  preventing  many  cases  of  fever, 
diphtheria,  and  other  diseases. 

Malaria. — A  house  or  school  building  should  never  be 
located  on  low,  flat  ground,  near  a  marsh  or  swamp.  Air  from 
stagnant  water,  or  wet  earth,  may  be  full  of  disease  germs. 
Malaria  (ague,  chills  and  fever)  is  always  caused  by  these  germs. 
A  schoolhouse  or  a  residence  should  always  ,be  built  on  a 
knoll  or  rise  of  ground,  where  perfect  drainage  may  be  had.  If 
there  is  perfect  drainage  the  soil  about  the  building  cannot 
remain  wet,  and  will  not  become  "sour,"  serving  as  a  breeding 
place  for  disease  germs. 

Dust. — If  the  fine  dust  particles  in  the  air  are  not  too  plen- 
tiful, the  moist  lining  and  the  little  hair  strainers  of  the  nose 
will  prevent  their  getting  into  the  lungs.  Kain  and  snow  storms 
wash  the  dust  out  of  the  air,  making  it  fresh,  sweet,  and  clean. 
Soft  coal,  where  it  is  used  to  a  great  extent,  is  a  source  of  irri- 
tating dust.  All  dust  entering  the  lungs  is  harmful.  For  this 
reason  it  is  much  better  to  have  the  playgrounds  about  our 
schools  in  sod  rather  than  covered  with  cinders  or  dry  earth. 


BREATHING   AND   THE   LUNGS.  141 

There  will  be  less  dust,  therefore,  less  disease.  In  some  occu- 
pations laborers  are  continually  exposed  to  the  danger  of 
inhaling  large  quantities  of  dust.  Coal  miners,  pottery  workers, 
pearl  button  makers,  flax  workers,  and  tool  grinders,  are 
especially  liable  to  asthma  and  similar  diseases  because  of  the 
dust-laden  atmosphere  with  which  they  are  surrounded  while 
they  work.  The  dust  continually  entering  the  lungs  finally 
weakens  them  by  causing  repeated  inflammation  of  the  air-sacs 
and  smaller  air-tubes.  On  the  other  hand,  certain  of  the  finest 
laces  can  be  made  only  in  damp  rooms.  In  some  cities  of 
Europe  many  poor  women  are  employed  in  making  this  lace. 
They  never  live  over  three  or  four  years,  if  they  continue  their 
work,  because  the  damp  air  produces  rapid  consumption  of  the 
lungs.  We  have,  then,  a  number  of  "  occupation  diseases,"  that 
is,  diseases  caused  by  the  improper  and  unhealthful  conditions 
amidst  which  certain  occupations  are  carried  on. 

Ventilation. — Enough  has  been  said  about  the  dangers  of 
breathing  impurities  to  show  the  necessity  of  a  plentiful  supply 
of  fresh  air  in  our  houses,  schools,  halls,  churches,  and  other 
meeting-places,  which  are  often  so  poorly  ventilated.  In  earlier 
days  when  our  houses  were  heated  by  open  fireplaces  with 
their  big  "  back-log,"  there  was  a  roaring  draught  up  the  chim- 
ney, making  perfect  ventilation.  To  a  great  extent  stoves  are 
now  used  in  place  of  open  fireplaces.  Stoves  do  not  use  much 
air,  and  consequently  do  not  serve  as  a  good  means  of  ventila- 
tion. Steam  and  hot-water  pipes  are  very  satisfactory  for  heat- 
ing, but  when  they  are  used  we  must  provide  some  method  for 
bringing  in  fresh  air.  Hot-air  furnaces  bring  in  fresh  air  that 
is  heated  on  the  way  into  the  room.  When  a  schoolroom  is 


142  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

heated  by  a  stove,  it  should  have  a  sheet-iron  shield  or  jacket 
about  it.  As  the  air  about  the  stove  becomes  heated  it  rises, 
and  cold  air  rushes  in  under  the  jacket  to  take  its  place.  Such 
an  arrangement  heats  the  room  more  evenly  and  prevents  the 
pupils  near  the  stove  from  being  overheated.  It  is  an  excellent 
idea  to  have  small  ventilating  flues  built  info  the  chimney 
around  the  smoke-flue  or  hole  where  the  stove-pipe  enters  the 
chimney.  These  small  ventilating  flues  furnish  good  outlets 
for  foul  air. 

But  a  perfect  system  of  ventilation  provides  an  inlet  for 
fresh  air  as  well  as  an  outlet  for  impure  air.  No  system  of 
ventilation  is  complete  unless  it  provides  both  of  these  features. 
To  insure  perfect  health  there  should  be  for  each  person  more 
than  a  cubic  foot  of  fresh  air  every  minute.  If  there  are  forty 
pupils  in  your  school,  there  should  be  such  perfect  ventilation 
that  forty  bushels,  or  a  big  wagon-load,  of  fresh  air  can  get  into 
the  room  every  minute,  and  an  equal  amount  of  foul  air  be 
gotten  rid  of  in  the  same  time.  Fresh  air  is  a  necessity.  If  it 
does  not  enter  the  schoolroom  in  sufficient  quantity,  the  pupils 
become  drowsy,  languid,  and  begin  to  have  what  doctors  call 
school-headaches.  Children  can  never  do  the  best  school  work 
without  fresh  air.  It  is  a  prime  necessity  to  mental  as  well  as 
healthy  physical  growth.  We  know  that  in  schools  where 
there  is  poor  ventilation  there  is  much  greater  likelihood  of 
the  pupils  "  catching "  diseases.  We  also  know  that  in  such 
schoolrooms  children  do  not  make  the  same  rapid  progress  in 
mental  growth  that  they  do  in  those  that  are  well  ventilated. 
Pure  air  in  our  schoolrooms  means  better  lessons,  clearer  brains, 
fewer  headaches,  and  more  genuine  enjoyment  in  our  work. 


BREATHING  AND   THE  LUNGS.  143 

Every  school  should  have  a  recess  each  half-day,  and  dur- 
ing these  recesses  all  the  children  should  go  out  of  doors,  not 
only  to  play  in  the  open  air  and  till  their  lungs  with  oxygen, 
but  also  to  give  the  teacher  an  opportunity  to  open  the  win- 
dows and  completely  air  the  schoolroom.  Class-rooms  should 
be  ventilated  winter  and  summer  at  each  recess  and  noon 
period,  by  opening  all  the  doors  and  windows.  While  such 
ventilation  is  going  on,  the  pupils  in  the  yard  or  halls  are  not 
only  getting  exercise,  but  will  also  bring  back  with  them  fresh 
air  in  their  clothes.  The  time  spent  in  recesses  will  be  more 
than  made  up  by  better  work  when  school  again  assembles 
after  such  an  intermission,  for  the  brain  will  be  quicker  and  the 
work  will  seem  easier.  The  Prussian  Minister  of  Education 
requires  that  the  windows  of  the  class-rooms  shall  be  open  all 
night  in  summer  weather ;  when  the  weather  is  cold  they  are 
kept  open  from  the  close  of  school  till  dark,  and  from  four  in 
the  morning  until  school  opens  at  seven  o'clock. 

How  to  Ventilate — If  there  are  no  foul-air  shafts  for  the 
escape  of  impure  air,  and  no  inlets  for  fresh  air,  a  good  method 
is  to  raise  the  lower  sash  of  a  window,  and  place  a  board  under 
it  so  as  to  completely  fill  up  the  window  casing.  This  will 
establish  good  ventilation  between  the  two  sashes.  This 
method  provides  for  constant  change  of  air,  and  yet  prevents 
draughts  of  air  from  entering  the  room  and  causing  "  colds." 
The  schoolroom  and  the  living-rooms  of  a  house  should  be 
kept  at  a  temperature  as  near  70  degrees  Fahrenheit  as  possible; 
sleeping-rooms  should  also  be  well  ventilated,  since  we  spend 
about  one-third  of  our  lives  in  them.  In  our  sleeping-rooms 
the  temperature  should  not  be  above  60  degrees  Fahrenheit. 


144  GRADED  LESSONS   IN  HYGIENE. 

Cleanliness  of  Schoolrooms. — If  cleanliness  does  not  exist 
in  the  schoolroom,  no  amount  of  ventilation  will  correct  the 
evil.  The  pupils  themselves  caruhelp  a  great  deal  in  this  mat- 
ter by  keeping  their  bodies  perfectly  clean,  and  also  their 
clothing  and  shoes.  There  should  be  scrapers  and  foot-mats 
where  shoes  can  be  quickly  cleaned  before  entering  the  school- 
room, and  there  should  be  basins  provided  where  children  can 
wash  themselves  when  necessary.  Cloaks,  overcoats,  hats,  caps, 
gossamers,  rubbers,  umbrellas,  all  give  off  unpleasant  odors, 
especially  when  wet,  and  on  this  account  should  never  be 
taken  into  the  schoolroom,  but  should  be  placed  in  the  hall  or 
the  especially  provided,  well-ventilated  cloak-rooms  found  in 
our  best  modern  schoolhouses. 

Very  often  schoolrooms  do  not  have  the  proper  kind  of 
floors.  Floors  -that  collect  a  large  amount  of  dirt  and  dust 
endanger  health.  If  the  boards  of  the  floor  are  too  soft,  they 
sliver  easily,  and  these  slivers  grind  into  dust,  and  besides, 
they  hold  moisture  too  long  after  being  scrubbed,  making  the 
room  smell  musty.  Close-fitting,  "matched"  flooring  of  maple, 
oak,  or  hard  pine  makes  the  best  floor.  To  avoid  raising  dust 
the  floor  should  be  first  sprinkled  with  wet  sawdust  before 
sweeping.  Dry  sweeping  does  not  remove  the  dust,  but  simply 
drives  it  from  one  place  to  another.  Schoolrooms  should  be 
swept  daily  and  scrubbed  often.  Linoleum  makes  a  good  floor- 
covering.  It  is  easily  swept  and  washed,  and  deadens  the  noise 
made  by  the  pupils'  feet.  It  is  in  every  way  better  than  the 
coarse  cocoa  matting  so  often  found  in  the  aisles  of  school- 
rooms. These  are  always  collectors  of  dust  and  disease  germs. 
The  dust-trough  that  runs  along  the  lower  edge  of  the 


BREATHING  AND  THE   LUtfGS.  145 

board  should  be  cleaned  every  evening  after  school.  Only  good, 
soft  blackboard  erasers  should  be  used,  and  they  should  be 
dusted  at  the  close  of  each  school  day.  Each  pupil  in  the 
school  can  do  a  great  deal  toward  keeping  the  schoolroom  clean. 
Since  dirt  breeds  disease,  and  cleanliness  insures  health,  is  it 
not  the  duty  of  every  child  in  your  school  to  help  the  teacher 
in  keeping  the  room  as  clean  as  possible  ? 

Effect  of  Alcohol  on  the  Lungs Alcohol  acts  directly  on 

the  "breathing  center"  in  the  spinal  bulb  at  the  base  of  the 
brain  and  thus  diminishes  the  amount  of  air  taken  into  tht 
lungs.  The  walls  of  the  minute  air  sacs  may  become  so 
thickened  as  to  be  less  elastic  and  their  size  thus  gradually 
decreased.  The  breathing  capacity  of  the  lungs  is  thereby 
reduced. 


EXEECISES. 

1.  In  a  history  or  encyclopedia  read  an  account  of  the  Black 
Hole  of  Calcutta. 

2.  What  are  the  facts  concerning  the  Grotta  del  Cane  and  the 
Upas  Valley? 

3.  Discuss  Fire  Damp,  Black  Damp,  and  Choke  Damp,  that 
often  work  such  serious  injury  to  men  working  in  mines. 


10 


f 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   NERVES   AND   THE 

You  have  already  learned  that  the  human  body  is  made  up 
of  many  parts,  each  of  which  has  its  own  particular  work  to  do. 
Stomach,  skin,  liver,  bones,  kidneys,  muscles,  heart,  and  lungs — 
each  has  a  special  task  to  perform,  but  all  must  work  in  har- 
mony with  each  other  in  order  that  the  body  may  act  as  a 
whole  and  be  kept  healthy.  All  of  these  members  of  the  body 
must  be  under  the  control  of  some  central  authority  or  govern- 
ment; they  must  be  parts  or  members  of  a  great  system,  just  as 
the  parts  of  a  complex  piece  of  machinery,  for  example,  a  loco- 
motive, are  under  the  control  of  an  engineer.  This  control  and 
direction  of  all  the  parts  of  the  body  in  relation  to  each  other, 
is  in  charge  of  and  is  exercised  by  the  nervous  system. 

The  Nervous  System — The  term  "nervous  system"  refers 
to  all  the  nerves  of  the  body,  and  includes  the  brain  and  spinal 
cord.  The  general  object  of  the  nervous  system  is  to  connect, 
control,  and  direct  the  actions  of  the  different  parts  and  organs 
of  the  body,  so  that  they  will  work  in  harmony.  Let  us  illus- 
trate. You  run  the  bases  in  a  ball  game :  your  heart  beats 
more  rapidly,  more  blood  is  pumped  through  it  to  the  lungs,  and 
more  oxygen  is  required.  You  therefore  breathe  faster.  The 
presence  of  the  food  in  the  mouth  calls  forth  saliva  from  the 
glands,  and  a  little  later  causes  the  gastric  juice  to  flow  from 

146 


THE  NERVES  AND  THE  BRAIN. 


147 


the  lining  of  the  stomach.  You  stand  looking  down  the  road, 
and  a  little  grain  of  dust  gets  into  your  eye.  When  this  hap- 
pens, the  tear  gland  of  the  eye  tries  to  wash  out  the  cause  of 
the  pain.  You  are  frightened. 
The  cold  chills  run  up  your 
back,  your  heart  stops  beating 
for  a  moment,  and  then  you 
run.  Your  finger  tip  touches 
a  hot  iron,  and  you  quickly 
jerk  your  hand  away.  A  little 
snake  runs  across  the  path  on 
your  way  to  school,  and  before 
you  know  it  you  stop  still, 
and  if  you  are  afraid,  you 
shudder.  There  is  something 
that  makes  all  these  organs 
and  parts  of  the  body  work  at 
the  proper  time.  This  some- 
thing is  the  nervous  system. 

A  thing  that  is  not  alive 
does  not  respond  when  touched 
or  handled.  If  you  handle  a 
piece  of  iron,  a  lump  of  coal,  or 
a  block  of  wood,  there  is  no 
movement  in  answer  to  your 
touch — there  is  "no  sign  of  life."  Suppose  you  are  walking 
through  the  busy  streets  of  a  great  city,  and  you  jostle  against  a 
lamp-post,  barber-pole,  or  tree.  You  find  that  none  of  these  ob- 
jects are  the  least  disturbed.  There  is  no  response  of  any  sort 


FIGURE  50.— Nervous  System  of  a  Man. 


148 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


FIGURE  51.— Nervous  System  of  a  Grass- 
hopper. 


on  their  part.  You,  however, 
respond  with  a  sudden  start, 
your  face  changes  expression, 
you  almost  lose  your  temper. 
With  your  hand  you  rub  the 
bruised  part  of  'your  body.  You 
feel.  The  lamp-post,  barber- 
pole  and  tree  do  not  feel.  Or, 
to  express  the  same  thing  in  a 
different  way,  you  have  a  ner- 
vous system ;  the  other  things 
have  no  nervous  system. 

Nerve  Messages — The 
nerves  are  very  much  like  tele- 
graph wires.  Your  head  con- 
tains something  quite  similar 
to  a  telegraph  office.  The  brain 
in  the  bony  skull-box  is  the 
central  instrument  that  sends 
out  and  receives  messages,  and 
the  little  white  thread-like 
nerves  running  all  through  your 
body  are  the  wires  connecting 
every  part  of  it  with  the  brain. 
You  wish  to  write  your  name. 
The  brain  sends  a  message  to 
the  hand,  and  it  begins  to  move 
in  just  the  way  it  should  to 
make  the  letters  composing 


THE  NERVES  AND   THE  BRAIN. 


149 


your  name.  The  message  is  taken  from  the  central  office,  or 
brain,  to  the  muscles  of  the  hand  by  means  of  the  nerves 
in  almost  the  same  way  that  a  telegraph  or  telephone  mes- 
sage is  transmitted  along  copper  wires.  This  is  a  motor 
message,  being  an  order  to  move.  Or,  perhaps  a  bee  stings  you 
on  the  hand ;  at  once  a  message  is  sent  rapidly  along  special 
little  nerve-wires  to  your  brain,  and  you  have  a  sensation  of 
pain.  This  is  a  sen- 
sory message.  It 
conveys  a  sense  im- 
pression to  the  brain. 

The  Parts  of  the 
Nervous  System. — 
The  nervous  system 
consists  of  (1)  the 
brain,  (2)  the  spinal 
cord,  and  (3)  the 
nerves  to  and  from 
the  brain.  The  brain 
and  spinal  cord  are 
called  nerve  centers.  The  reason  for  that  we  shall  soon  see.  The 
nervous  system  is  composed  of  two  kinds  of  substance  in  every 
way  different  from  each  other.  One  of  these  is  the  "white  matter," 
the  other  the  "gray  matter."  Nervous  tissue  is  the  finest  tissue 
in  the  whole  body.  It  is  the  "master  tissue,"  for  it  controls, 
directs,  and  regulates  all  other  tissue. 

The  Brain — By  the  brain  is  meant  the  whole  mass  of  ner- 
vous matter  which  is  contained  in  the  bony  box  called  the  skull. 
On  the  outside  it  is  grayish  in  color.  Under  its  gray  cells  the 


FIGURE  52.— Section  through  a  portion  of  the  human  Brain; 
showing  the  number  and  depth  of  the  convolutions  and 
the  arrangement  of  white  and  gray  matter. 


150  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

brain  is  white,  for  this  part  consists  of  nerve  fibers.  It  is  within 
the  brain  that  the  nerve  fibers  begin.  The  brain  is  connected, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  with, all  parts  of  the  body. 

The  human  brain  is  not  smooth,  as  are  the  brains  of  the 
owl,  parrot,  frog,  chicken,  squirrel,  or  marmoset.  Instead  oft  a 
smooth  outer  surface  it  has  many  folds,  or  wrinkles,  as  you  see 
on  page  151.  By  observing  closely  you  will  find  that  in  the 
human  brain  these  wrinkles"  are  greater  in  number  and  deeper 
than  in  the  brain  of  the  cat  or  monkey.  The  older  we  grow,  the 


FIGURE  53.— Brain  of  Parrot.         FIGURE  54.— Brain  of  Owl.     FIGURE  55.— Brain  of  Cat. 


more  we  are  educated,  and  the  more  our  brains  are  developed,  the 
more  numerous  and  deeper  do  these  folds  become.  The  fissures 
between  the  folds,  or  convolutions,  furnish  nice  little  channels 
through  which  the  rich,  red,  arterial  blood  can  flow  over  the 
surface  of  the  brain  to  feed  and  nourish  the  hard-working  cells 
that  are  continually  hungry  for  oxygen,  The  brain  needs  a 
very  large  amount  of  blood  in  order  that  it  may  do  the  great 
work  it  has  to  perform.  While  the  brain  weighs  only  one- 
forty-fifth  as  much  as  the  rest  of  the  body,  it  uses  one-eighth 
of  all  the  blood  in  the  body.  To  do  its  work,  to  grow,  to  become 


THE   NERVES   AND   THE   BRAIN. 

AVERAGE  HUMAN  BRAIN. 


151 


FIGURE  57.— Side  view. 


152 


GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


educated,  and  to  keep  in  good  health,  the  brain  must  have  an 
abundance  of  rich,  pure  blood.  The  more  the  blood  flows  over 
the  brain  surface,  the  deeper  do  ;the  fissures  become,  and  the 
greater  their  number.  This  makes  it  correct  to  say  that  the 
greater  the  number  and  depth  of  the  fissures  of  the  brain,  the 
more  intelligent  and  better  educated  is  the  persbn. 

Size  of  the  Brain — It  is  not 
the  animal  whose  brain  is  the 
largest  and  the  heaviest  that 
is  the  most  intelligent.  It  is 
rather  the  animal  whose  brain 
is  most  convoluted, — most  wrin- 
kled,— and  the  one  in  which 
these  wrinkles  are  the  deepest 
and  the  largest,  that  has  the 
highest  order  of  intelligence,  be- 
cause in  such  a  brain  there  is 
more  brain  surface  and  more  gray 
matter  rich  in  cells  to  do  the  work 

FIGURE  58.— Brain  of  a  Monkey.  .    .,      ,  »  . 

that  the  brain  must  perform.    A 

brain  with  a  great  many  wrinkles  has  more  surface  than  one  of 
the  same  size  with  fewer  convolutions.  Look  at  the  picture  of 
the  brain  of  Gauss,  the  celebrated  mathematician.  (Figure  59.) 
Your  teacher  will  tell  you  what  wonderful  mental  ability  this 
great  scholar  possessed.  Notice  how  many  convolutions  and 
how  deep  they  are.  Such  a  brain  has  an  unusually  large  surface, 
and  therefore  an  unusually  large  amount  of  gray  matter  filled 
with  nerve  cells,  and  is  a  better  brain  than  one  with  less  sur- 
face, less  gray  matter,  and  fewer  cells. 


THE  NERVES  AND  THE  BRAIN".  153 

While  it  is  true  that  some  of  the  greatest  scholars  the  world 
has  ever  known  had  large  brains,  it  is  also  true  that  the  largest 
brains  known  have  been  those  of  insane  persons.  I  have  before 
me  now  on  my  table  as  I  write,  the  brain  of  an  insane  man  and 
the  brain  of  a  highly  educated  young  woman.  The  brain  of 
the  insane  man  is  much  larger  and  heavier  than  the  other,  but 
no  one  would  think  of  saying  that  he  was  more  intelligent. 
The  woman,  with  her  fine  brain  and  its  many  convolutions, 


FIGURE  59.— Brain  of  Gauss,  the  celebrated  mathematician  and  astronomer.    (Vogt.) 

was  a  celebrated  artist.  The  man  had  been  idiotic  almost  from 
birth,  had  always  had  criminal  tendencies,  had  never  been  able 
to  read  or  write,  and  was  violently  insane  during  the  last  years 
of  his  life.  The  woman's  brain,  while  smaller,  has  more  and 
deeper  wrinkles,  more  brain  surface,  and  more  gray  matter. 
That  of  the  man,  while  larger,  has  fewer  and  more  shallow 
fissures,  less  brain  surface,  and  less  gray  matter.  The  woman 
was  very  intelligent  and  well  educated.  Her  brain  was  devel- 
oped. The  man  was  always  stupid  and  could  not  be  educated 
His  brain  was  not  developed. 


154  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

The  Divisions  of  the  Brain — The  brain  consists  of  three 
parts  or  main  divisions.  (1).  The  large  brain,  or  cerebrum; 
(2)  the  small  brain  -or  cerebellum;  (3)  the  spinal  bulb,  or 
medulla  ollongata. 

The  cerebrum  is  the  largest  division  of  the  brain,  being  about 
four-fifths  of  the  whole.  It  is  divided  into  halves  or  hemi- 
spheres. The  gray  matter  here,  as  in  the  rest  of  the  brain,  lies 


FIGURE  60.— Brain  of  a  Hottentot. 

on  the  outside,  and  forms  a  gray  rind  from  one-twelfth  to  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  according  to  the  degree  of 
development  or  education.  The  thicker  this  gray  outside 
layer, — that  is,  the  more  gray  matter, — the  better  is  the  person 
educated.  The  cerebellum  lies  under  the  back  part  of  the  large 
brain  and  is  joined  to  it.  It  also  has  the  gray  matter  on  the 
outside  and  many  fine  little  fissures,  giving  the  cerebellum, 
when  cut  through,  a  leaf-like  appearance,  called  arbor  vitce. 


THE  NERVES  AND  THE  BRAIN. 


155 


The  spinal  bulb  is  the  smallest  division  of  the  brain,  being  only 
an  inch  and  a  quarter  long  and  about  an  inch  in  thickness  at 
its  largest  part.  It  connects  the  rest  of  the  brain  with  the 
spinal  cord. 

The  Work  of  the  Cerebrum — Receives  Sensory  Messages. — 
The  various  parts  of  the  body  are  continually  sending  news  to 


FIGURE  61.— Showing  the  various  Brain  centers. 

the  cerebrum,  telling  what  is  affecting  them  from  without. 
Thus  the  nerves  of  the  eye  take  messages  of  things  seen.  The 
nerves  of  the  ear  of  things  heard.  The  finger  tips  contain  fine 
nerve  endings  that  can  feel  acutely,  and  by  them  touch  mes- 
sages are  sent  to  the  brain.  We  get  the  news  of  the  outside 
world  by  means  of  such  experiences  as  seeing,  hearing,  touch- 
ing, smelling,  tasting,  and  the  like.  These  different  kinds  of 
news  gatherers  and  news  carriers  are  called  the  senses.  All 


156  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

the  messages  that  come  through  the  eye  are  carried  to  the 
lower  portion  of  the  back  part  of  the  brain.  This  is  called  the 
visual  center.  Any  activity  of  the  brain  cells  within  the  center 
of  vision,  no  matter  to  what  such  activity  is  due,  gives  rise  to 
sensations  of  vision.  Thus,  even  with  the  eyes  closed,  if  you  fall 
striking  the  back  part  of  your  head,  you  "  see*"  stars."  This  is 
because  the  jar  has  affected  the  back  part  of  the  brain,  which 
is  most  active  when  we  see  things,  much  more  so  than  any  other 
portion  of  the  brain.  If  disease  should  attack  this  part  of  the 
brain  it  would  result  in  total  blindness,  even  if  there  were 
nothing  the  matter  with  the  eyes.  Messages  of  hearing  are 
delivered  to  the  portion  of  the  brain  just  above  the  ears.  If 
this  brain  center  is  injured  we  become  deaf,  though  our  ears 
remain  perfect. 

Sends  out  Motor  Messages. — Besides  receiving  messages, 
the  gray  matter  of  the  cerebrum,  or  large  brain,  directs  the 
motions  of  our  bodies  and  their  parts.  The  portion  of  the  brain 
lying  just  beneath  the  top  of  the  head  and  toward  the  front  of 
the  ears,  sends  out  all  the  orders  for  motion,  whether  it  be  playing 
the  piano,  using  the  typewriter  (see  finger  center),  or  directing 
the  muscles  of  the  face,  arms,  legs,  or  those  finer  muscles  em- 
ployed in  speech.  Speech  is  one  of  the  highest  acts  of  the 
mind.  The  lips,  tongue,  and  vocal  cords  obey  the  brain  cells  of 
the  "speech"  center.  If  this  part  of  the  brain  were  injured, 
we  would  lose  the  power  of  speech.  Sometimes  a  clot  of  blood 
forms  in  the  little  fold  or  wrinkle  at  the  speech  center,  and  in 
such  a  case  the  person  cannot  say  the  simplest  words,  such  as 
"yes"  and  "no,"  until  a  piece  of  the  skull  bone  over  the  speech 
center  is  removed  and  the  little  hard  clot  of  blood  washed 


THE  NERVES   AND  THE  BRAIN.  157 

away.  Such  a  person  can  still  make  noises  with  his  mouth, 
but  cannot  talk;  he  can  understand  what  is  said  to  him,  for 
the  sense  of  hearing  is  not  affected;  he  can  write,  for  the  brain 
center  that  directs  the  motion  of  the  fingers  is  still  in  good 
order. 

Some  time  ago,  while  in  Germany,  my  attention  was  called 
to  a  very  interesting  case  of  loss  of  speech  in  one  of  the  hospitals 
of  Berlin.  A  German  army  officer  had  been  thrown  from  his 
horse  during  one  of  the  military  parades  which  took  place  in 
the  celebration  of  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Sedan.  In 
falling,  his  head  struck  the  hard  street  pavement.  At  first 
he  was  unconscious.  Soon  after  his  return  to  consciousness  it 
was  discovered  he  could  not  utter  a  single  word.  Every  attempt 
to  speak  resulted  in  dismal  failure.  Nothing  came  of  his  pain- 
ful trials  but  a  series  of  meaningless  sounds.  After  five  weeks 
an  examination  of  the  brain  itself  was  determined  upon,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  trouble  was  due  to  an  injury  to  the 
speech  center  itself.  A  small  portion  of  the  skull  being  re- 
moved, a  little  hardened  clot  of  blood  was  found  directly  over 
the  speech  center  (see  figure  on  page  155).  This  blood  clot  was 
carefully  removed  and  the  wound  sprayed  with  a  jet  of  warm 
distilled  water.  Three  weeks  after  this  operation  was  performed, 
the  patient  had  fully  regained  his  ability  to  speak. 

Education  of  the  Whole  Brain — In  order  that  all  parts  of 
the  brain  be  developed,  it  is  necessary  that  they  all  be  exer- 
cised. When  we  see  things,  only  one  part  of  the  brain  is 
active,  and  only  one  part  developed  thereby — the  visual  center. 
The  rest  of  the  brain  is  practically  idle.  In  hearing,  another 
part  of  the  brain  is  exercised.  And  so  in  case  of  each 


158  GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

kind  of  sense  experience,  only  one  portion  of  the  brain 
gets  any  exercise  and  acquires  the  development  that  naturally 
results  from  this  activity.  In  order  to  have  the  whole  brain 
properly  developed,  every  one  of  its  parts  must  be  exercised, 
otherwise  some  portions  die  of  disuse  and  inactivity.  To  be 
really  educated  there  must  be  education  through  the  activity 
of  all  the  senses.  There  must  be  training  of  all  the  muscles. 
Manual  training  is  of  great  value,  not  only  in  teaching  the  use 
of  tools,  but  in  giving  to  us  a  development  of  certain  portions 
of  our  brains  that  would  otherwise  die  from  disuse.  You 
know  how  flabby  our  muscles  become,  and  how  they  finally 
atrophy,  if  they  are  not  exercised.  The  same  thing  occurs  in 
the  case  of  the  nerve  cells  of  the  brain.  Those  that  are  not 
exercised  die  and  can  never  be  created  again.  If  they  drop 
out,  none  ever  take  their  place. 

Each  study  in  school  is  for  the  purpose  of  giving  us  a  certain 
kind  of  mental  training,  a  particular  kind  of  brain  exercise. 
Arithmetic  gives  us  brain  training  with  reference  to  memory, 
while  nature  study  helps  us  in  training  the  powers  of  observa- 
tion. The  boy  who  lives  on  a  farm  develops  good  observing 
powers,  because  he  spends  so  much  time  out  of  doors  that  he 
is  continually  seeing  interesting  things.  Many  children  in  the 
crowded  tenement  houses  of  the  city  have  never  seen  a  bee, 
squirrel,  or  chicken,  and  do  not  know  that  leathern  things  come 
from  the  skins  of  animals,  wooden  things  from  trees,  or  milk 
from  cows.  They  do  not  even  know  that  meat  comes  from  ani- 
mals. Such  children  have  their  powers  of  observation  blunted 
because  they  are  shut  in  and  unable  to  see  things  that  the  more 
fortunate  boy  in  the  country,  and  smaller  towns  and  cities,  can 


THE   NERVES   AND   THE  BRAIN.  159 

see.  The  child  who  has  no  chance  to  observe  is  cheated,  and 
can  never  be  educated  in  the  same  broad  way  and  to  the  same 
degree  that  he  could  were  he  more  fortunately  surrounded. 

Every  study  in  the  school,  every  activity  in  work  or  play, 
can  accomplish  some  special  object  along  the  line  of  mental 
training  and  brain  development.  For  this  reason  we  sometimes 
study  subjects  we  do  not  like  very  well,  because  no  other 
study  could  give  us  the  same  kind  of  mental  exercise. 

Work  of  the  Cerebellum.— The  little  brain,  or  cerebellum, 
is  of  great  service  in  helping  us  to  balance  the  body  in  walking 
or  standing.  If  it  is  diseased  or  injured  we  become  dizzy 
and  cannot  walk  straight.  The  reason  a  drunken  man  staggers 
and  is  unable  to  walk  properly  is  because  the  alcohol  he  has 
taken  makes  the  blood  gather  or  "  congest "  over  the  cerebellum. 
This  pressure  of  poisoned  blood  prevents  the  balancing  center 
from  acting  perfectly.  If  a  bird  has  its  cerebellum  injured,  it 
cannot  fly,  but  will  flutter  its  wings  in  an  aimless  manner. 

Work  of  the  Spinal  Bulb.— The  spinal  bulb,  or  medulla, 
not  only  serves  as  a  means  of  conveying  messages  between  the 
brain  and  spinal  cord,  but  it  is  the  seat  or  center  of  con- 
trol of  some  important  self-acting,  or  involuntary,  muscles. 
The  center  of  breathing  is  in  the  spinal  bulb.  If  this  little 
part  of  the  spinal  bulb  be  injured,  breathing  stops,  and  the 
person  dies  instantly.  For  this  reason  this  place  is  called 
the  "  vital  knot."  The  spinal  bulb  is  also  the  seat  of  the 
centers  of  sneezing  and  swallowing. 

The  Brain  is  a  Center. — You  can  now  see  why  the  brain  is 
called  a  center.  It  directs  all  the  important  muscular  activities. 
It  is  the  central  station  to  which  all  the  sense  messages  about 


160  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

things  outside  of  our  bodies  are  telegraphed.  It  is  the  physical 
basis  of  all  our  mental  activities.  Without  the  brain  we  could 
not  see,  hear,  or  have  any  sense  experience.  We  could  not 
remember  or  imagine  things.  We  could  never  feel  pleasure,  we 
could  never  talk  to  our  friends,  we  could  not  even  love  our 
parents.  We  could  not  direct,  control,  or  educate  the  muscles, 
were  it  not  for  the  brain.  How  important  it  is,  then,  for  us  to 
keep  it  in  a  healthy  condition. 

The  Spinal  Cord. — The  spinal  cord  is  the  great  "trunk  line," 
made  up  by  joining  in  one  bundle  the  nerves  from  all  parts  of 
the  body  that  go  to  and  from  the  brain.  It  is  a  long  tube  of 
nervous  matter  and  extends  through  the  whole  length  of  the 
spinal  canal  in  the  backbone.  It  is,  therefore,  from  fifteen  to 
eighteen  inches  in  length  in  the  adult.  Differing  from  the 
brain,  in  the  spinal  cord  the  white  matter  is  on  the  outside, 
and  the  gray  matter  is  within.  The  cord  contains  both  nerve 
fibers  and  nerve  cells.  This  makes  it  possible  for  it  to  do 
both  kinds  of  work.  It  not  only  carries  the  commands  of  the 
brain,  but  it  does  some  work  itself  because  of  the  cells  it 
possesses.  (1)  It  is  a  pathway  to  and  from  the  brain,  carry- 
ing sense  impressions  to  the  brain  and  motor  impulses  from  the 
brain  to  the  muscles.  (2)  It  performs  some  activities  without 
the  brain's  help,  and  thus  saves  the  brain  a  large  amount  of 
work,  especially  in  the  lower  animals.  A  frog  with  its  head 
cut  off  can  perform  some  movements  quite  well.  A  bug  known 
as  the  Praying  Mantis,  will  continue  to  fight  its  opponent  a 
long  time  after  its  head  has  been  severed.  It  does  not  need 
its  brain  to  fight,  the  spinal  cord  is  enough. 

The  spinal  cord  also  contains  nerve  centers  that  tell  the 


THE   NERVES   AND   THE   BRAIN.  1G1 

cells  throughout  the  body  when  to  eat  and  grow,  and  inform 
the  arteries  how  much  blood  to  send  to  each  cell.  We  put  the 
food  into  the  body,  it  is  taken  up  by  the  blood,  and  the  spinal 
cord  tells  the  tissues  when  and  where  to  use  the  food.  It  is 
the  center  of  the  sympathetic  system  of  nerves.  We  have  no 
control  over  the  action  of  the  spinal  cord.  We  cannot  feel  it 
acting  and  we  cannot  keep  it  from  acting.  The  spinal  cord 
performs  its  important  work  without  our  being  compelled  to 
think  about  it.  It  acts  when  we  are  asleep  as  well  as  when  we 
are  awake. 

Nerve  Fibers. — You  have  perhaps  already  observed  that 
there  are  two  kinds  of  nerve  fibers.  (1)  Those  that  carry  mes- 
sages from  the  sense-organs^  like  the  eye,  ear,  and  skin,  to  the 
brain,  and  (2)  those  that  carry  messages  from  the  brain  to  the 
different  parts  of  the  body,  directing  them  in  their  work.  Thus 
the  mind  through  the  brain,  and  the  brain  through  the  busy 
little  telegraph  wires,  or  nerve  fibers,  receives  word  when  the 
skin  is  cold,  when  it  is  in  pain,  as  from  a  sharp  pin,  when  it 
is  burned,  as  with  a  hot  iron,  when  it  is  tickled,  as  with  a  straw 
or  feather.  Likewise  when  the  beautifully  colored  red  rose  or 
the  delicately  tinted  sunset  attracts  the  lye,  a  great  number  of 
little  nerve  fibers  carry  the  message  to  the  visual  center  at  the 
back  part  of  the  brain,  and  the  delightful  object  is  perceived  by 
the  mind.  In  a  similar  way  the  pleasant  taste  of  fruits,  the 
bitter  taste  of  medicines,  the  agreeable  odor  of  the  fragrant 
flower,  and  the  delightful  strains  of  music,  arise  from  impres- 
sions on  the  sense-organs.  These  impressions  are  at  once 
hurried  to  the  brain  for  the  mind  to  perceive,  remember,  and 
think  about. 
11 


162  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

In  a  similar  way,  when  the  mind  decides  to  do  anything, 
the  brain  sends  the  message  to  the  muscles  best  fitted  to  do  the 
work.  If  we  are  going  to  draw  a,  beautiful  picture,  the  message 
is  sent  to  the  fingers,  and  not  to  the  toes.  If  we  are  right- 
handed,  this  message  is  sent  to  the  right  hand,  and  not  to  the 
left.  If  we  are  going  to  sing,  the  message  is  sent  to  the  vocal 
cords  that  they  stretch  just  tightly  enough  to  make  the  proper 
note.  If  we  decide  to  study  hard,  the  brain  rivets  our  eyes  on 
our  books,  and  we  do  not  see  what  is  going  on  around  us.  We 
give  attention  to  the  teacher ;  that  is,  our  mind  decides  to 
hear  the  teacher's  explanation  of  a  problem,  and  we  do  not  hear 
the  noises  outside  of  the  schoolhouse,  but  only  what  the  teacher 
says. 

Speed  of  the  Nerve  Messages.— The  nerves  act  with  great 
quickness.  When  we  sometimes  wish  to  say  that  something 
acts  very  quickly,  we  say  that  it  is  "  as  quick  as  thought." 
Yet  there  are  some  things  that  travel  faster  than  we  can  think. 
Light,  electricity,  and  even  sound  travel  faster'  than  the  tele- 
graphic messages  from  the  eye,  ear,  or  skin  to  the  brain.  The 
nerve  messages  from  the  ear  travel  faster  than  those  of  any  of 
the  other  senses,  even  faster  than  the  nerve  messages  from 
the  eye.  The  slowest  nerve  messages  are  those  that  carry 
impressions  of  pain  to  the  brain.  They  travel  at  the  rate  of 
twenty-six  feet  per  second,  while  the  fastest  messages  of  hearing 
go  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  per  second.  The 
average  speed  of  the  nerve  messages,  taking  all  kinds  into  con- 
sideration, is  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  per  second.  If  our  hand 
is  burned  by  contact  with  a  hot  iron,  we  first  have  an  impres- 
sion of  touch,  then  heat,  and  last  of  all,  pain,  received  by  the 


THE  NERVES   AND  THE   BRAIN.  163 

brain,  for  sensations  of  touch  travel  faster  than  those  of  heat, 
and  of  heat  faster  than  those  of  pain. 

School  Headaches — The  brain  sympathizes  with  all  the 
other  parts  of  the  body.  If  the  stomach  and  other  organs  of 
the  body  do  not  work  properly,  the  brain  sympathizes  with 
them,  and  we  have  a  sick  headache.  If  we  are  not  breathing 
pure  air,  or  if  the  schoolroom  is  too  warm  and  close,  and  we  are 
compelled  to  breathe  the  same  air  over  and  over  again,  because 
of  poor  ventilation,  we  first  become  so  dull  and  sleepy  that 
we  can  hardly  study,  and  finally  we  have  a  severe  headache.  If 
we  fail  to  take  exercise  to  make  our  blood  circulate  well,  we 
suffer  from  headaches. 

Kinds  of  Headaches  and  Their  Causes. — Children  should 
never  have  headaches;  but  they  frequently  suffer  from  them 
because  of  irregularities,  carelessness,  and  ignorance  on  their 
own  part  with  respect  to  such  things  as  proper  food,  exercise, 
amount  of  sleep,  and  ventilation.  They  come  as  warnings  that 
certain  conditions  are  wrong  and  must  be  changed  to  prevent 
long  and  serious  illness.  Mother  Nature  kindly  warns  us  by 
means  of  headaches  whether  we  are  abusing  our  bodies  or 
living  in  the  right  manner. 

Headaches  Due  to  Poor  and  Insufficient  Blood — These  head- 
aches occur  very  frequently  in  children  between  the  ages  of 
eight  and  fifteen  years.  They  generally  occur  at  the  top  of  the 
head,  sometimes  in  the  forehead,  and  consist  of  a  dull,  boring 
pain,  usually  most  severe  early  in  the  morning.  These  head- 
aches are  usually  accompanied  with  a  slight  dizziness  and 
feeling  of  faintness.  In  a  person  suffering  from  this  kind  of 
headache  there  is  a  paleness  of  the  gums  and  roof  of  the 


164 


GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 


mouth,  showing  that  there  it  not  enough  rich  blood  to  nourish 
the  body  properly.  Blood-making  foods  should  be  eaten,  and 
blood-circulating  exercise  should  be  taken.  These  two  things  will 
do  more  to  insure  health  and  freedom  from  this  kind  of  headache 
than  all  the  drugs  in  the  world.  Milk,  eggs,  beef,  mutton,  and 
such  nourishing  foods  should  be  eaten.  Kick  foods,  such  as 
pastry,  should  be  given  up  entirely.  Meals  should  occur  at 


Constipation. 
Fatigue. 


Defective  Vision. 

Indigestion.  In-") 
sufficient  > 
blood.  j 


Poor  Blood  Sup- 
ply, Excite- 
ment, Worry. 


„-  Eye. 

"."."."1T.-5- -/--     Decayed  Teeth. 

.v~-"r  Ear  Disease. 


FIGURE  62.— Showing  location  of  Headaches,  according  to  their  causes. 

regular  hours.      Exercise  should  be  taken  every  day  to  the 
extent  of  creating  an  appetite  and  assisting  digestion. 

Headaches  Due  to  Indigestion — These  headaches  are  com- 
mon to  children  of  all  ages,  and  are  due  to  errors  in  eating. 
They  are  generally  located  in  the  forehead.  They  come  on  sud- 
denly and  continue  until  their  cause  is  removed.  They  are 
easily  recognized  by  the  fetid  breath,  the  coated  tongue,  distress 
in  the  stomach,  and  constipation  or  diarrhoea.  I  have  known 
them  to  arise  in  many  cases  from  the  habit  of  eating  cold 
lunches,  and  from  eating  too  rapidly. 


THE  NERVES  AND  THE  BRAIN.        165 

Headaches  Due  to  Ear  Disease. — These  headaches  are  ex- 
tremely painful,  and  are  usually  located  just  back  of  the  ear. 
Even  a  gentle  touch  at  this  locality  makes  the  pain  unbearable. 
These  headaches  are  due  to  the  formation  of  pus,  as  often  occurs 
after  such  diseases  as  scarlet  fever. 

Headaches  Due  to  Eye  Strain. — These  headaches  occur  in 
children  who  either  have  eye  defects  or  who  study  and  read  in 
poorly  lighted  rooms.  If  light  is  reflected  on  the  blackboard  so 
as  to  dazzle  the  eyes,  or  if  the  writing  on  the  blackboard  is  too 
small  to  be  read  easily,  or  if  the  child  is  "far-sighted"  or  "  near- 
sighted," such  headaches  are  very  likely  to  occur.  Heading 
print  that  is  too  fine,  or  too  large,  on  poor  paper,  with  poor 
light,  will  also  cause  these  headaches.  They  are  quite  similar 
to  other  "  nervous  "  headaches.  The  pain  is  located  either  at 
the  back  part  of  the  head  or  at  the  temples  above  and  back  of 
the  eye.  Excitement  will  also  cause  nervous  headaches,  as  will 
mental  fatigue  due  to  overstrain  in  school  work. 

Headaches  from  Fatigue  Poison — Fatigue  is  a  poison. 
When  we  are  fatigued  by  work  and  worry  there  is  a  poison 
present  in  the  blood  just  as  truly  as  there  is  in  typhoid  fever, 
diphtheria,  and  other  infectious  diseases.  If  the  blood  is  pois- 
oned by  fatigue  as  a  result  of  mental  overstrain,  the  brain  is 
first  affected.  The  brain  using  much  more  blood  in  proportion 
to  its  size  than  do  the  other  parts  of  the  body,  suffers  most  if 
the  blood  is  poisoned  from  fatigue  or  any. other  cause.  When 
one  is  out  of  his  head,  or  delirious,  during  a  raging  fever, 
it  is  because  of  the  poisons  in  the  blood  due  to  the  rapid 
burning  of  bodily  tissue.  The  brain  must  continually  have  a 
new  supply  of  blood.  The  brain  cells  are  continually  starving 


166  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

for  oxygen.  If  the  corpuscles  bring  poison  instead  of  oxygen, 
the  brain  cells  feed  on  poison.  They  suffer  from  this,  and  can- 
not do  their  work  honestly.  They  cannot  be  depended  upon. 

The  headache  resulting  from  fatigue  is  a  dull,  burning, 
heavy  pain  (not  a  sharp,  shooting  pain)  in  the  front  part  of  the 
head.  It  is  a  warning  for  us  to  lay  aside  work  and  worry  for 
a  little  while,  and  take  brisk  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

Other  headaches  to  which  children  are  subject  are  those 
present  at  the  beginning  of  such  illnesses  as  typhoid  fever, 
scarlet  fever,  and  diphtheria.  Children  suffer  from  headaches 
that  result  from  malaria  (especially  in  some  of  the  Southern 
States  and  in  other  "  ague  "  districts).  Any  poison  in  the  sys- 
tem will  produce  a  headache.  I  know  of  a  case  where  a  little 
girl  suffered  from  headache  nearly  every  day.  Every  effort  was 
made  to  find  the  cause,  but  without  success,  until  it  was  noticed 
that  she  was  in  the  habit  of  buying  a  certain  kind  of  chewing- 
gum  wrapped  in  tinfoil.  The  lead  in  the  tinfoil  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  gum,  and  produced  lead-poisoning.  When  she 
gave  up  this  habit,  she  no  longer  had  the  headache. 

Rest. — The  brain,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  body,  would 
soon  fail  to  do  good  work  if  compelled  to  work  too  long  or  too 
hard.  Eest  is  necessary  for  all  parts  of  the  body.  It  is  espe- 
cially necessary  for  the  brain.  The  best  form  of  rest  is  change 
of  the  kind  of  work  rather  than  absolute  idleness.  The  hard- 
est kind  of  work  for  a  child  is  to  sit  or  stand  perfectly  still. 
Idleness  is  not  rest.  If  the  mind  is  tired,  the  best  thing  in  the 
way  of  rest  is  some  brisk  physical  exercise.  This  is  the  reason 
we  have  recesses  in  our  schools.  Eecesses  should  not  be  spent 
in  the  schoolroom,  but  should  be  used  as  an  opportunity  for 


THE  NERVES  AND  THE  BRAIN.        167 

free  play  and  outdoor  exercise  for  both  boys  and  girls.  Young 
children  in  the  first  two  or  three  grades  should  have  more 
recesses,  even  if  they  are  shorter,  than  older  pupils.  Exercise 
brings  a  new  supply  of  blood  to  the  brain,  and  gives  it  new  life, 
making  the  mental  work  of  study  and  recitation  much 
easier. 

We  do  not  spend  an  entire  day  in  the  study  of  one  subject 
in  our  schools.  Why  would  it  not  be  a  good  arrangement  to 
study  and  recite  arithmetic  all  day  Monday,  language  lessons 
all  day  Tuesday,  spelling  all  day  Wednesday,  and  so  on  ?  We 
all  know  that  such  a  school  program  would  be  ruinous.  There 
would  be  none  of  that  delightful  mental  rest  that  comes  with 
change  of  subjects  after  short  intervals.  We  would  be  so 
tired  of  one  subject  before  the  day  was  over  that  we  could 
no  longer  give  attention  to  it,  and  could  not  drive  our  minds 
and  brains  to  do  any  more  work.  The  brain  in  such  a  case 
would  be  no  longer  able  to  digest  the  facts  pertaining  to  this 
one  subject.  It  would  be  like  the  stomach  of  the  man  who 
agreed  to  eat  one  quail  a  day  for  thirty  days.  Brain  and  mind 
rest  comes  best  with  frequent  changes  of  program.  The  recita- 
tion and  study  periods  of  any  one  subject  should  not  be  so  long 
as  to  make  our  brains  weary  of  that  subject,  giving  us  a  feeling 
of  mental  fatigue  and  disgust  so  far  as  that  particular  study  is 
concerned.  Not  only  should  the  study  and  recitation  period 
of  each  subject  be  comparatively  short,  but  each  subject  should 
be  followed  by  one  that  is  a  complete  change,  that  is,  one  that 
calls  into  activity  other  portions  of  the  brain,  and  gives  rise  to 
mental  operations  quite  different  from  the  ones  that  have  been 
going  on.  Thus  arithmetic  should  be  followed  by  such  a  sub- 


168  GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

ject  as  reading,  and  reading  by  elementary  science  or  nature 
study — a  complete  change,  therefore,  a  rest. 

Sleep. — Sleep  is  the  only  fotrn  of  complete  and  general  rest. 
During  sleep  a  less  amount  of  blood  flows  over  the  brain  sur- 
face, and  there  is  rest  from  activity  quite  similar  to  that  of 
trees  that  hibernate  or  sleep  in  winter,  when  the  sap  goes  down 
from  the  branches  to  the  roots.  If  a  boy  or  girl  eats  and  sleeps 
well  and  regularly,  securing  a  sufficient  amount  of  sleep  every 
twenty-four  hours,  it  can  scarcely  be  said  that  his  brain  is  over- 
worked. 

In  some  of  the  large  cities,  such  as  London,  New  York  and 
Chicago,  recent  investigations  have  shown  that  hundreds  of 
poor  boys  are  compelled  to  work  forty  hours  each  week,  in 
addition  to  the  time  spent  in  school,  at  such  employment  as 
selling  newspapers,  delivering  milk,  and  running  errands. 
Many  of  these  boys  are  compelled  to  begin  their  outside  work 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  carry  on  their  school  work 
under  great  strain.  During  the  afternoon  session  they  often 
become  so  sleepy,  as  the  result  of  nature's  demand  for  rest,  that 
they  cannot  do  good  school  work. 

The  average  amount  of  sleep  required  at — 

4  years  of  age  is  12  hours, 

7  years  of  age  is  11  hours, 

9  years  of  age  is  10  1-2  hours, 
10-12  years  of  age  is  10  hours, 
12-14  years  of  age  is  9  hours. 

If  there  is  any  great  departure  from  these  averages  the 
child  is  not  in  normal  health.  Disturbances  of  digestion  are 
often  the  cause  of  sleeplessness.  Poorly  ventilated  and  over- 


THE  NERVES  AND  THE  BRAIN.  169 

heated  rooms  also  cause  restlessness  and  disturbed  sleep.  A 
window  in  one's  bedroom  should  be  kept  at  least  partially  open 
during  the  entire  night.  Children  under  fourteen  should  be 
allowed  a  little  more  sleep  in  winter  than  in  summer,  and  when 
they  are  growing  most  rapidly.  It  is  a  deplorable  fact  that 
very  young  and  growing  boys  and  girls  are,  especially  in  winter, 
taken  to  concerts  and  other  evening  entertainments.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  they  come  to  school  the  next  .day  tired,  when 
they  should  be  rested,  the  fatigue  showing  in  the  bagginess  of 
the  eyelids  and  the  dark  circles  around  the  eyes.  Coming  to 
school  in  this  unrested  condition,  they  are  unfit  for  the  best 
mental  work. 

Children  should  never  go  to  bed  hungry.  When  hungry, 
one  cannot  go  to  sleep  readily,  nor  sleep  so  soundly.  Instead 
of  going  to  bed  hungry,  one  should  partake  of  some  easily 
digested  food,  such  as  bread  and  milk,  crackers,  or  even  a 
glass  of  milk  without  anything  else.  Good  milk,  you  remember, 
is  a  perfect  food,  and  besides  it  promotes,  rather  than  retards, 
sleep.  -Overwork,  over-excitement,  or  the  reading  of  horrible  or 
exciting  tales  just  before  bedtime,  also  constitute  a  frequent 
cause  of  serious  disturbance  of  sleep.  Trouble  and  worry  like- 
wise are  sleep-robbers. 

During  sleep  the  brain  cells  regain  their  strength.  Sleep 
does  most  good  when  it  is  regular.  A  person  gets  the  most 
benefit  from  sleep  if  he  goes  to  bed  at  about  the  same  .hour 
each  evening.  The  beneficial  rest  of  mind  and  body  that 
comes  so  naturally  and  completely  with  sleep  cannot  be  secured 
in  any  other  way.  All  animals  that  have  well-developed  and 
highly  organized  nervous  systems  must  take  rest  in  sleep. 


170  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

Dreams — Sometimes  when  the  rest  of  the  brain  is  asleep,  a 
few  of  its  cells  for  some  reason  keep  acting.  They  act  in  so 
lively  a  manner  as  to  leave  memories  when  we  awake,  as  if  they 
were  real  occurrences.  These  activities  of  a  few  brain  cells 
during  sleep  constitute  our  dreams.  We  dream  most  impos- 
sible things  at  times,  which  goes  to  show  that  only  a  few  cells 
have  been  active.  When  more  are  active,  as  when  we  are 
awake,  our  ideas  are  clearer,  for  then  the  cells  act  more  honestly, 
and  correct  each  other. 

Habit. — I  know  an  old  man  who,  for  twenty  years,  had 
been  what  is  known  to  railroad  men  as  the  "night  caller,"  his 
work  being  to  call  those  engineers  and  firemen  who  were 
obliged  to  run  the  night  trains.  Keaching  an  advanced  age, 
after  such  a  long  term  of  faithful  service,  the  railroad  super- 
intendent decided  to  give  him  more  pleasant  employment. 
Instead  of  being  compelled  to  work  the  entire  night,  exposed 
to  all  sorts  of  weather,  he  was  offered  a  position  which  would 
pay  him  a  little  better  salary,  and  at  the  same  time  exact 
shorter  hours  of  labor,  which,  best  of  all,  would  be  in  the 
daytime.  At  first  the  old  man  gratefully  accepted,  and  entered 
gladly  upon  the  new  work.  After  a  few  days  he  became  dis- 
satisfied with  this  new  and  better  position,  and  this  dissatisfac- 
tion so  grew  upon  him  that  in  a  short  time  he  came  to  the 
railroad  official  and  begged  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  go 
back  to  his  old-time  night  work,  even  at  a  less  salary  than  he 
was  then  receiving.  That  is,  he  was  desirous  of  exchanging 
what  ordinarily  would  be  termed  comfort  for  discomfort,  only 
because  he  had  worked  so  long  at  night  that  he  could  not  feel 
satisfied  with  other  work.  He  had  learned  to  sleep  better  in 


THE   NERVES   AND   THE   BRAIN.  171 

the  daytime  than  at  night,  and  his  whole  life  had  become  the 
reverse  of  that  followed  by  the  majority  of  men.  Men  who 
have  grown  old  in  prison  have  asked  to  be  readmitted  after 
having  served  their  sentences,  and  on  this  request  being  denied, 
they  have  committed  some  crime  that  involved  their  being 
sent  to  prison  again.  People  like  to  do  things  as  they  have 
always  done  them — like  to  live  as  they  have  always  lived. 

If  the  brain  cells  have  acted  in  the  same  way  a  few  times, 
they  tend  to  act  in  exactly  the  same  way  again.  When  you 
bend  your  arm,  your  coat  or  dress  sleeve  wrinkles  in  exactly 
the  same  manner  each  succeeding  time.  When  a  piece  of 
paper  is  once  folded,  it  folds  more  easily  in  the  same  place  the 
second  time.  A  door-lock  works  better  after  having  been  fre- 
quently used.  A  piece  of  machinery  works  more  easily,  there 
is  less  resistance,  after  it  has  been  run  some  little  time.  Our 
brain  cells  are  subject  to  the  same  rule.  Certain  brain  cells 
that  act  together  once,  act  together  more  readily  a  second  time, 
still  more  readily  the  third  time,  and  so  on.  They  form  the 
habit  of  acting  together.  If  our  brain  cells  in  the  speech  cen- 
ter act  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  us  say,  "I  done  it,"  for  "I  did 
it,"  or  any  other  grammatical  error,  it  is  easier  for  them  to  act 
together  the  second  time  and  cause  us  to  make  the  same  mis- 
take. The  more  they  act  together  in  using  wrong  language  or 
profane  words,  the  harder  it  will  be  to  overcome  this  habit. 
Our  nervous  system,  our  brain  cells,  may  become  our  strongest 
ally,  or  our  worst  enemy,  according  to  the  habits  formed.  If 
the  proper  brain  cells  have  acted  together  from  the  first,  then 
good  habits  are  formed  that  help  us  at  every  stage  of  our 
existence.  How  important,  then,  that  we  begin  right,  in  order 


172  GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

that  our  nervous  system  may  form  habits  of  helping  rather 
than  hindering  us.  We  must  acquire  habits.  We  cannot  help 
acquiring  them.  Shall  they  be  gQpd  or  bad  ? 

Character. — The  habits  acquired  determine  character.  All 
of  our  habits  of  life  and  action,  whether  mental  or  physical, 
have  some  sort  of  basis  in  the  physical  organization  and 
training  of  our  bodies.  The  first  command,  in  the  form  of 
a  nervous  impulse,  carried  from  the  brain  to  certain  groups 
of  muscles  in  order  to  cause  some  definite  form  of  activity 
picks  its  way,  as  it  were,  in  order  to  find  the  path  of  least 
resistance.  The  next  impulse  from  the  brain  to  bring  about 
similar  muscular  activity  will  follow  this  path  that  has  already 
been  used.  In  the  course  of  time  this  nerve  pathway  becomes 
so  well  marked,  so  deeply  cut  that  it  is  a  "fixed  habit"  of 
action.  We  all  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  change  a  fixed 
habit. 

Groups  of  nerve  cells  that  have  once  acted  together  tend 
to  act  together  again.  The  more  they  are  associated  in  their 
activity,  the  more  easily  and  readily  do  they  act  on  each 
succeeding  occasion.  Have  you  not  observed  that  a  person  in 
learning  to  play  the  piano  must  closely  attend  to  every  move- 
ment of  the  fingers,  but  after  long  practice  his  fingers  seem  to 
strike  the  proper  keys  without  any  special  effort  or  direction  ? 
Certain  of  the  brain  cells  have  become  so  accustomed  to  work 
together  in  the  long  periods  of  practice,  that  they  act  almost  of 
their  own  accord,  accurately  and  quickly,  just  as  soon  as  the  eye 
in  glancing  at  the  sheet  of  music  perceives  the  note  that  should 
be  sounded,  and  sends  this  message  to  the  brain.  Habitual 


THE   NERVES  AND   THE  BRAIN.  173 

actions  are  always  performed  with  less  effort,  in  less  time,  and 
more  accurately  than  new  activities  could  possibly  be. 

Our  nervous  systems  become  accustomed  to  certain  ways  of 
living,  and  certain  modes  of  activity.  The  paths  connecting 
the  brain  cells  concerned  in  these  frequent  activities,  are  the 
easiest  ones  for  the  brain  impulses  to  employ.  The  more  one 
coasts  down  the  snowy  hillside,  the  smoother  does  the  path 
become,  and  the  faster  and  farther  does  his  sled  travel.  The 
more  one  does  a  certain  thing,  the  more  likely  is  he  to  do  it 
•again.  This  is  illustrated  in  every  one  of  our  habits.  If  these 
habits  are  good,  our  nervous  system  is  our  ally,  and  it  is  com- 
paratively easy  for  us  to  do  what  is  good.  We  do  not  have  to 
struggle  and  battle  against  habitual  tendencies;  instead,  our 
habits  help  us.  If  these  habits  are  wrong,  then  they  are  as  a 
millstone  round  our  necks  in  our  efforts  at  correct  living. 

This  principle  of  habit  applies  in  every  particular  to  the 
practice  of  using  alcoholic  beverages.  Each  succeeding  time 
the  taste  for  drink  is  indulged,  the  less  does  one's  power  of 
resistance  become.  The  real  meaning  of  the  word  "habit "is 
"that  which  holds  us,"  and  when  a  form  of  action  becomes  a 
habit,  we  are  held  in  firm  grasp.  Let  me  illustrate.  A  college 
mate  of  mine,  a  fine-appearing  young  man  belonging  to  one  of 
the  leading  families  in  this  nation,  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
taking  a  social  glass  of  liquor.  From  some  cause  he  became 
seriously  ill,  and  his  mother,  who  was  traveling  in  Europe,  was 
cabled  for.  By  the  time  she  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  be  at  her 
boy's  bedside,  he  became  stronger  and  almost  well,  and  with 
the  thought  of  surprising  his  mother  and  allaying  her  anxiety, 
he  planned  to  go  to  New  York  and  meet  her  at  the  steamer  on 


174  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

its  arrival.  During  the  ten  days  of  his  illness  he  had  not 
tasted  any  sort  of  liquor,  because  of  the  doctor's  orders.  In 
going  from  the  college  "to  the  railway  station,  enjoying  the 
delightful  morning  air,  his  path  led  by  a  saloon.  He  was 
warned  by  his  physician  to  never  again  partake  of  alcoholic 
drinks.  He  was  determined  to  obey  this  injunction,  but  as  he 
was  passing  the  saloon  door  his  whole  nervous  system  seemed 
to  cry  out  for  drink,  and  weakened  as  he  was  because  of  his 
period  of  illness,  he  could  not  resist.  He  entered  the  saloon, 
drank  the  liquor,  and  this  brought  on  a  relapse  of  the  fever, 
from  which  he  died — because,  through  habit,  his  nervous  system 
was  his  enemy  rather  than  his  ally. 

Healthy  Brain  Requires  Healthy  Body. — The  brain  cells  are 
the  first  to  suffer  if  the  blood  is  not  pure,  if  the  air  is  bad,  if 
the  food  does  not  digest,  or  if  anything  else  interferes  with  our 
bodily  health.  The  best  brain  work  comes  easiest  to  the  person 
having  a  healthy  body.  Proper  physical  exercise  is  of  great 
value  in  brain  health  and  brain  training.  A  sound  mind  in  a 
sound  body  should  be  the  result  of  all  education  on  the  part 
of  the  school,  the  home,  and  the  individual  himself. 


EXERCISES. 

1.  Debate  in  class:  "Is  the  dog  or  the  horse  the  more  intelli- 
gent animal?" 

2.  Write,  in  the  form  of  a  composition,  an  account  of  a 
dream  you  have  had. 

3.  Give  a  written  account  of  the  earliest  event  in  your  life, 
which  you  now  remember  as  having  occurred,  stating  your  age  at 
the  time  of  its  occurrence. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  EYES  AND  THEIR  CAKE. 

Our  bodies  are  truly  wonderful.  Perhaps  the  most  won- 
derful and  delicate  organ  of  the  human  body  is  the  eye.  Have 
you  ever  thought  what  great  care  nature  has  taken  to  protect 
the  eye  ?  It  is  set  deep  in  a  bony  socket,  the  edges  of  which 
serve  as  a  strong  guarding  ring;  the  eyebrows  overhang  it  so  as 
to  keep  water  or  perspiration  on  the  forehead  above  from  run- 
ning into  the  eye;  the  eyelids  are  fringed  with  lashes,  and 
serve  as  curtains,  closing  over  the  eye  instantly  when  the  light 
is  too  strong.  In  the  same  manner  the  eyelids  protect  the 
eyeball  from  dust  and  dirt.  The  nose  also  helps  to  protect  the 
eye  from  blows  or  jars  from  the  front  or  side.  That  the  eye,  so 
necessary  to  comfort  and  success  in  life,  is  highly  prized  by 
Mother  Nature,  is  shown  by  the  safeguards  and  means  of  pro- 
tection provided.  Much  of  the  health  and  care  of  our  eyes, 
however,  depends  entirely  upon  ourselves.  If  we  mistreat 
them  we  are  sure  to  suffer  in  many  ways.  Much  carelessness 
with  respect  to  the  use  of  our  eyes  will  cause  harm  that  can 
never  be  remedied. 

Description  of  the  Eye — The  eye  is  a  globe  filled  with  a 
clear  fluid.  It  has  three  coats  or  layers.  The  outer  one 
(sclerotic)  is  white,  and  this  is  what  is  called  the  white  of  the 
eye.  The  second  layer  (choroid)  is  black,  so  as  to  absorb  sur- 

175 


176  GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

plus  light,  that  the  object  looked  at  may  be  clearly  seen.  It 
serves  the  same  purpose  that  the  black  lining  of  a  photog- 
rapher's camera  does.  When  the  photographer  takes  a  picture, 
he  covers  his  head  and  the  camera  into  which  he  is  looking 
with  a  black  cloth  to  shut  out  surplus  light.  The  only  light 
he  desires  to  enter  his  camera  is  that  which  comes  direct  from 
the  object,  the  picture  of  which  he  is  taking.  The  inner  coat, 
or  third  layer,  is  a  thin  membrane  called  the  retina.  It  is 
made  up  of  many  nerve  cells,  and  is  the  sensitive  plate  of  the 
eye  on  which  all  images  of  objects  must  be  received  before  the 
objects  themselves  can  be  seen. 

At  the  front  of  the  eye  is  a  clear,  round  window,  called 
the  cornea.  Back  of  this  is  the  iris,  a  round,  muscular  cur- 
tain, with  a  small,  round,  black  hole  in  it,  called  the  pupil. 
The  iris  is  blue,  brown,  gray,  or  black,  and  gives  to  the  eye  its 
color.  The  pupil  becomes  larger  or  smaller  so  as  to  regulate 
the  amount  of  light  that  enters  the  eye.  In  very  bright  light 
it  becomes  quite  small  so  as  to  shut  out  many  of  the  rays.  In 
dim  light  it  becomes  very  large  so  as  to  permit  all  the  light 
possible  to  enter  the  eye.  Have  you  not  observed  that  after 
you  are  in  the  dark  for  a  few  minutes  you  can  see  better  than 
when  you  at  first  entered  the  darkness?  This  is  because  the 
pupil  of  the  eye  requires  a  little  time  to  expand,  and  thus 
adjust  itself  so  as  to  receive  as  much  light  as  possible.  When 
you  enter  a  brightly  lighted  room,  after  you  have  been  in 
the  darkness,  objects  seem  blurred.  You  cannot  see  things 
clearly  because  too  much  light  enters  the  eye,  and  the  pupil 
must  become  smaller  (which  it  does  in  an  instant)  before  the 


THE  EYES  AND  THEIR  CARE.         177 

eye  can  have    a  clear  picture  on  its  retina.     Why  can  a  cat 
see  much  better  in  the  dark  than  a  person  ? 

Behind  the  pupil  is  a  flattened,  double-curved  body  with 
layers  like  an  onion,  called  the  lens.  It  is  like  a  magnifying 
glass,  in  bringing  all  the  rays  of  light  together  into  one  bright 


FIGURE  63. — Section  of  an  eye  looking  at  a  pencil,  c,  c,  cornea ;  w,  white  of  eye ; 
cm,  ciliary  muscle ;  a,  a,  aqueous  humor ;  v,  vitreous  humor ;  i,  i,  iris ;  Z,  Z,  lens ; 
r,  r,  retina ;  on,  optic  nerve ;  1,  %,  pencil ;  /',  #',  image  of  pencil  on  the  retina. 


spot.  The  lens  of  the  eye  gathers  together  the  rays  of  light, 
just  as  does  the  lens  of  a  magic  lantern  in  order  to  throw  a 
clear  picture  on  a  screen.  In  the  eye  the  sensitive  retina 
is  the  screen,  and  the  optic  nerve  carries  the  impression 
of  this  picture  to  the  visual  center  at  the  back  part  of  the 
brain,  and  thus  produces  vision.  The  vitreous  humor  is  a  color- 
less fluid,  like  the  white  of  a  raw  egg,  filling  the  large  portion 
13 


178  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

of  the  eyeball  back  of  the  iris  and  lens.  The  aqueous  humor  is 
a  similar  but  somewhat  thinner  liquid,  filling  the  small  portion 
of  the  eyeball  between  -the  cornea,  and  the  lens. 

How  We  See — The  light  reflected  from  the  object  enters 
the  front  of  the  eye  at  the  cornea,  passes  through  the  aqueous 
humor,  the  pupil,  the  lens,  the  vitreous  humor,  and  throws  a 
picture  of  the  object,  upside  down,  on  the  screen  called  the 
retina,  and  this  is  connected  with  the  visual  center  at  the  back 
part  of  the  brain  by  .means  of  the  optic  nerve.  When  this 
impulse,  or  impression,  reaches  the  brain,  we  see.  If  the  optic 
nerve  is  cut,  or  dies  from  disease,  we  become  blind,  not  because 
our  eyes  are  no  longer  good,  but  because  their  connection  with 
the  brain  is  destroyed.  Sometimes  a  cataract  grows  over  the 
cornea,  or  pupil,  at  the  front  of  the  eye,  and  shuts  out  all  light 
so  that  we  cannot  see.  This  is  a  frequent  cause  of  blindness. 
But  nowadays  the  surgeon  does  his  work  so  delicately  that  the 
cataract  or  diseased  coating  can  be  scraped  off,  like  a  blot  of  ink 
in  your  copybook,  or  a  hole  can  be  scraped  through  it  and  sight 
is  restored.  Much  blindness  is  caused  by  improper  care  of  the 
eyes,  and  many  such  cases  can  now  be  cured  because  of  the 
wonderful  skill  of  the  modern  surgeon. 

The  Eyes  Move — Each  of  the  eyes  can  be  turned  in  any 
direction  by  means  of  six  muscles.  This  arrangement  enables 
us  to  watch  objects  from  every  point  of  view.  By  means  of 
these  muscles,  we  can  rapidly  glance  up,  down,  to  the  right, 
to  the  left,  or  roll  the  eyes  about.  The  muscles  usually  guide 
both  eyes  together,  just  as  we  guide  a  team  of  horses  with  the 
reins.  In  the  eyes,  however,  there  are  six  pairs  of  reins. 

Being  Cross-eyed. — Sometimes  one  or  more  of  the  muscles 


THE   EYES   AND    THEIR   CARE.  179 

is  not  of  the  right  length,  and  both  eyes  will  not  be  guided 
alike.  One  eye  will  then  look  at  one  object,  while  the  other 
looks  at  something  else.  Such  a  person  is  cross-eyed.  By 
means  of  an  operation  the  offending  muscle  can  be  shortened 
or  lengthened,  and  the  cross-eyed  person  is  cured.  The  opera- 
tion is  most  successful  when  it  occurs  in  childhood. 

Tears. — While  we  are  awake  the  eyes  are  in  almost  con- 
stant *1notion.  To  prevent  friction  from  rubbing  against  the 
lids,  as  well  as  to  wash  out  little  dust  particles,  and  thus  pre- 
vent injury,  each  eye  is  moistened  by  a  saltish  liquid,  called 
tears.  These  tears  are  secreted  in  a  gland  above  and  toward 
the  outside  of  each  eye.  Each  gland  is  about  the  size  of  an  or- 
dinary bean,  and  is  connected  with  the  inside  of  the  nose  by 
means  of  a  small  tube.  When  one  weeps,  or  cries,  the  tears  run 
faster  than  this  tube  or  duct  can  carry  them  into  the  nose.  Then 
they  run  down  the  cheeks.  Tears  are  useful  in  keeping  the 
eyeballs  clean. 

Near-sightedness. — You  may  have  observed  that  some  persons, 
to  see  clearly,  must  hold  the  book,  newspaper,  or  other  object 
being  looked  at,  close  to  their  eyes.  This  is  called  near-sighted- 
ness. Near-sighted  pupils  are  apt  to  lean  over  their  desks, 
causing  round  shoulders.  Others  make  themselves  near-sighted 
through  the  habit  of  sitting  in  a  stooped-over  position,  as  in  the 
bad  positions  shown  in  the  accompanying  picture. 

Far-sightedness — Other  persons  cannot  see  objects  close  to 
them  as  well  as  they  can  those  at  a  distance.  This  is  called 
far-sightedness. 

Spectacles — All  persons  with  defective  vision,  whether 
suffering  from  near  or  far-sightedness,  should  wear  well-fitted 


180 


GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


spectacles,  which  will  make  it  possible  for  them  to  see  as  well 
as  any  other  person,  and  without  discomfort.  In  far-sighted- 
ness they  must  wear  spectacles  -'with  lenses  of  such  curvature 
as  to  cause  near  objects  to  be  seen  clearly.  In  near-sightedness 
the  lenses  must,  of  course,  be  of  just  the  opposite  curvature. 

After  ''middle  life,  and 
as  we  become  older,  most  of 
us  will  find  our  eyesight 
becoming  defective.  This 
is  due  generally  to  the  lit- 
tle muscle  controlling  the 
shape  of  the  lens.  This 
muscle  loses  its  power  as 
age  advances,  and  because 
of  this  the  lens  can  no 
longer  adapt  itself  so  as  to 
see  objects  at  different  dis- 
tances. The  eyes  should 
be  examined  by  a  skilled 
oculist  without  delay,  and 

suitable  glasses  should  be  used.  This  condition  of  defective 
vision  should  not  be  neglected.  As  the  years  advance,  "  stronger  " 
glasses  will  be  necessary. 

The  Blind  Spot. — The  place  on  the  retina  where  the  optic 
nerve  enters  the  eye  is  totally  blind.  This  spot  has  no  nervous 
elements  sensitive  to  light.  To  prove  the  existence  of  the 
blind  spot,  close  the  right  eye  and  look  steadily  with  the  left 
at  the  cross  in  Fig.  65,  holding  the  book  directly  in  front  of, 
and  moving  it  to  and  from  the  face.  At  about  one  foot  from  the 


Good  Positions. 
FIGURE  64. 


THE   EYES   AND   THEIR   CARE.  181 

face  the  black  disk  entirely  disappears;  when  nearer  than  this 
or  farther  from  the  face,  it  is  seen.  In  this  simple  experiment, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  the  left  eye  focused  on  the 
cross.  The  blind  spot  is  about  one-thirteenth  of  an  inch  long 
in  the  average  human  eye. 

Care  of  the  Eyes. — Trouble  with  the  eyes  may  arise  from 
a  number  of  causes.  If  the  whole  body  is  weak  and  the  health 
poor,  the  eyes  are  also  apt  to  be  weak.  Continued  stomach 
trouble  frequently  causes  serious  and  permanent  eye  trouble. 
Poor  circulation  of  the  blood  always  affects  vision.  One  should 


FIGURE  65. 

never  study  or  read  eaily  in  the  morning  before  breakfast/when  the 
stomach  is  empty,  for  such  a  practice  will  quickly  cause  inflam- 
mation of  the  eyes.  A  cold  causes  serious  discomfort  with 
respect  to  vision  in  much  the  same  way  that  it  develops  a  sore 
throat,  by  inflammation  of  the  delicate  membrane  lining  it. 
After  any  serious  illness,  during  convalescence,  great  care  should 
be  taken  in  the  use  of  the  eyes.  Many  diseases,  such  as  scar- 
let fever,  measles,  and  diphtheria,  seriously  weaken  the  eyes, 
so  they  cannot  do  the  usual  amount  of  work  until  there  is  per- 
fect restoration  to  health.  Pale  ink,  greasy  slates,  dirty  black- 
boards, and  hard  lead  pencils  that  do  not  make  a  black  mark, 
are  very  trying  to  the  eyes. 


182  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

Eyesight  and  School  Work  Directions  to  Pupils. 

1.  Sit  upright,  sit  square. 

2.  Keep  your  eyes  at  least  twelve  inches  from  your 
work. 

3.  Write  on  a  slope,  not  on  a  flat  table. 

4.  Eead  with  your  book  well  up ;  do  mot  lay  it  down 
flat. 

5.  Do  not  read  very  small  print. 

6.  Do  not  work  in  a  bad  light. 

7.  If  you  cannot  properly  see  your  work,  tell  your 
teacher. 

Out  of  School. 

1.  Do  not  read  lying  down. 

2.  Do  not  read  by  twilight,  or  by  a  poor  light,  or  when 
the  eyes  are  tired. 

3.  Do  not  face  the  light  in  reading. 

4.  Do  not  look  steadily  at  the  sun  or  a  very  bright 
light. 

5.  When  your  eyes  feel  tired  after  reading  for  a  time, 
rest  them  by  looking  at  objects  at  a  distance. 

Poor  Print  and  the  Eyes — Badly  printed  school  and  other 
books  read  by  children  cause  undue  strain  of  the  eyes.  The 
type  should  be  plain,  clear,  and  sufficiently  large.  It  should  be 
Eoman  rather  than  Gothic.  This  book  is  printed  in  Koman- 
faced  type,  and  of  the  proper  size  for  school  books.  After  a 
number  of  tests  upon  a  great  many  children  in  the  laboratory 
of  one  of  our  largest  universities,  it  was  found  that  the  style 
and  size  of  type  used  in  this  book  is  that  which  is  most  easily 
read  by  persons  older  than  nine  years.  It  is  called  Long 
Primer. 


THE   EYES   AND   THEIR   CARE.  183 

The  following  show  the  various  sizes  of  type: 

(Double  Pica.)  (Great  Primer.)  (Pica.) 

1  JlC     S1ZC     and  Style  Of     type  used  in 

(Long  Primer.)  (Bourgeois.)  (Minion.)  (Pearl.) 

printing  the  pages  of      this  book  is      more  easily  read     than  any  other. 

None  smaller  than  the  one  indicated  as  Long  Primer  should 
ever  be  used  in  school  books.  The  largest  type  here  shown  is 
too  large  for  any  school  book.  Type  that  is  too  large  is  as 
injurious  to  the  eyes  in  study,  as  type  that  is  too  small. 

Impressions  from  old  and  worn-out  type  are  apt  to  be  im- 
perfect. The  long  letters  become  broken  or  worn  off  at  the 
ends,  the  a  and  e  are  not  distinct,  and  the  b  and  h,  as  well  as 
the  p,  g,  and  q,  are  hard  to  distinguish.  The  lines  should  not 
be  too  close  together,  and  should  not  be  too  long.  A  cream- 
tinted  paper  is  easier  on  the  eyes  than  pure  white.  Straw- 
colored  manila  paper  is  far  better  than  white  paper  for  pencil 
work  by  artificial  light.  School  tablets  made  of  manila  paper 
are  both  cheaper  and  better  for  pencil  work  than  white  paper. 
A  soft  pencil  should  be  used,  as  it  will  make  a  plainer  mark. 

Testing  the  Eyes. — A  child  with  normal  eyesight  ought  to 
be  able  to  read  the  pages  of  this  book  in  a  good  light  at  a  dis- 
tance of  forty  inches,  and  as  close  as  six  inches,  and  at  all 
distances  between  these  two.  A  child  that  cannot  read  it  as  far 
as  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  inches  from  the  face  should  have  his 
eyes  examined  by  an  oculist.  A  rough  test  can  be  made  with 
the  following  heavy  black  letters,  looked  at  from  the  designated 
distances  with  each  eye  separately. 


184  GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

OF 

Can   you  read   these   letters   at   the  distance  of  forty  feet? 

P  H  E 

Can  you  read  these  letters   at  the   distance   of   thirty  feet? 

Z  P  L  R  D  F 

Can  you  read  these  letters  at  the  distance  of  twenty  feet  ? 

A  F  E  T   B  X  V 

Can  you  read  these  letters  at  the  distance  of  fifteen  feet  ? 

VBSHOKNEDA 

Can   you   read   these    letters   at   the    distance    of    ten    feet  ? 

FIGURE  66. — Test-type  Letters. 

In  thus  testing  your  eyes  place  the  open  book  in  good 
light  against  the  wall  of  the  schoolroom.  Test  each  eye- 
separately.  Keep  both  eyes  open.  Do  not  close  the  eye 
not  being  tested,  but  hold  a  card,  a  book,  or  your  hand  in 
front  of  it.  Start  at  a  distance  of  about  fifty  feet  and  walk 
toward  the  "  test-type  "  letters,  keeping  your  eye  fixed  steadily 


THE  EYES  AND  THEIR  CARE.         185 

on  them.  If  your  eyes  are  as  good  as  they  should  be,  you  will 
discover  that  you  can  distinguish  the  two  largest  letters  at  a 
distance  of  forty  feet.  Then  walk  still  closer,  and  note  care- 
fully at  what  distance  you  can  read  each  of  the  other  rows  of 
letters.  Observe  whether  your  right  eye  is  stronger  or  weaker 
than  your  left  eye.  These  tests  will  be  exact  enough  to  reveal 
whether  or  not  your  eyes  are  normal.  If  they  are  not,  you  may 
find  in  this  fact  the  true  reason  for  headaches,  from  which  you 
may  suffer  at  times.  In  case  your  eyes  are  defective,  it  is 
always  a  good  plan  to  consult  an  oculist.  Defects  of  vision  are 
always  more  readily  cured  when  one  is  young.  You  can  safely 
use  your  eyes  until  they  begin  to  ache  or  burn.  They  should 
never  cause  pain  from  use.  If  they  do,  something  is  wrong. 
At  the  first  sign  of  such  discomfort,  it  is  best  to  stop  work  and 
give  the  eyes  a  rest. 


QUESTIONS   FOR,   STUDY. 

1.  How  do  birds  compare  with  other  animals  in  keenness  of 
vision? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  such  expressions  as   "watch  like  a 
hawk,"    "eagle-eye,"  and  the  like? 

EXERCISE. 
Write  an  account  of  what  is  meant  by  color-blindness. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE   HYGIENE  OF   THE   EAR. 

The  ear  is  almost  as  delicate  and  fully  as  interesting  as 
the  eye.  It  is  even  more  complicated.  Before  considering 
the  care  of  this  important  and  wonderful  instrument,  we  will 
briefly  observe  its  structure. 

Each  ear  is  made  up  of  three  distinct  parts:  the  external 
ear,  the  middle  ear,  and  the  inner  ear. 

The  External  Ear — The  outer  ear  is  simply  a  funnel  to 
catch  sounds,  which  are  carried  through  the  middle  ear  to  the 
inner  ear.  It  consists  of  the  part  which  is  seen  standing  out 
prominently  on  either  side  of  the  head,  and  also  the  auditory 
canal,  extending  as  far  as  the  drum  of  the  middle  ear.  The 
auditory  canal  is  nearly  one  inch  in  length.  You  have  seen  a 
person  partially  deaf  curve  his  hand  about  his  ear  so  as  to  make 
this  shell-shaped  funnel  larger,  and  thus  catch  more  sound.  In 
some  animals  the  outer  ear  is  movable  and  can  therefore  be 
adjusted  to  make  the  sense  of  hearing  more  acute.  Have  you 
not  observed  how  dogs  and  horses  prick  up  their  ears  when 
trying  to  listen  closely  to  an  unfamiliar  sound?  The  concha,  or 
shell-shaped  funnel  of  the  external  ear,  consists  of  thin,  cor- 
rugated pieces  of  cartilage,  covered  with  skin  on  both  sides. 

Ear  Wax — The  auditory  canal  is  lined  with  a  continuation 
of  the  skin  on  the  inner  surface  of  the  concha.  Within  the 

186 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  EAR.  187 

canal,  this  lining  contains  glands  that  secrete  a  fluid  with  which 
to  moisten  and  protect  the  parts,  especially  the  ear-drum.  This 
fluid  is  bitter,  and  prevents  insects  from  crawling  very  far 
into  the  ear.  It  catches  any  dust  or  dirt  that  might  other- 
wise enter  too  far  into  the  auditory  canal.  You  will  notice 
that  this  canal  is  curved.  You  cannot  see  as  far  as  the  ear- 
drum when  looking  inward  because  of  this  curve.  A  cinder, 
flying  insect,  or  other  harmful  object,  is  thus  less  apt  to  injure 
the  ear-drum  than  if  there  were  a  straight  channel  from  the 
outside.  When  the  fluid  that  is  exuded  by  the  lining  of  the 
auditory  canal  hardens,  it  becomes  wax.  You  should  never  use 
a  sharp  instrument  in  removing  this,  as  there  is  grave  danger  of 
injuring  the  lining,  causing 'serious  inflammation,  similar  to  the 
inflammation  that  exists  when  one  is  suffering  from  earache. 

The  Ear-Drum. — There  is  a  thin  membrane  forming  a  wall 
across  the  end  of  the  auditory  canal,  making  the  boundary 
between  the  external  and  middle  ear.  This  membrane,  together 
with  the  tissues  to  which  it  is  attached,  is  called  the  ear-drum. 
The  drum-head,  the  thin,  delicate  partition  to  which  we  have 
just  alluded,  is  readily  set  in  vibration  by  the  sound  waves 
received  from  the  external  ear  through  the  auditory  canal.  If 
it  did  not  vibrate  we  could  not  hear,  for  the  sound  waves  would 
not  then  be  transmitted.  The  least  puncture  of  the  drum-head 
destroys  its  ability  to  vibrate  in  harmony  with  the  sound  waves 
received  from  without.  It  is  essential  that  this  delicate  mem- 
brane be  kept  from  injury  of  any  sort. 

The  Middle  Ear. — Just  beyond  the  drum-head  is  the  small 
cavity  known  as  the  middle  ear.  Stretched  across  this  cavity 
is  a  chain  of  very  small  bones,  which,  from  their  shape,  are 


188 


GRADED  LESSONS   IN  HYGIENE. 


called  the  hammer,  the  anvil,  and  the  stirrup.  The  handle  of 
the  hammer  is  attached  to  the  inner  surface  of  the  drum-head, 
while  its  head  forms  a  joint  with  .the  anvil.  The  anvil  is  also 
directly  attached  to  the  stirrup.  At  the  bottom  of  the  middle 
ear  is  a  small  tube,  affording  a  passage  from  the  upper  and  back 


FIGURE  67. — Section  through  the  Ear. 


part  of  the  throat.  By  means  of  this  eustacliian  tube,  for  such 
it  is  called,  a  supply  of  air,  so  necessary  to  the  health  and  per- 
fect action  of  the  middle  ear,  is  kept  up.  The  drum-head  would 
sag  inward  if  there  were  no  air  pressure  from  within  the  middle 
ear.  This  would  prevent  proper  vibration,  and  seriously  interfere 
with  hearing.  .  The  adenoid  growths  described  in  Chapter  IX., 


THE   HYGIENE   OF   THE    EAR.  189 

by  clogging  the  eustachian  tube,  impair  hearing.  They  are  prob- 
ably the  most  frequent  cause  of  defective  hearing  in  children. 

The  Inner  Ear. — This  is  the  most  complex  portion  of  the 
organ  of  hearing.  It  consists  of  three  parts:  the  vestibule,  a 
small  chamber  not  larger  than  a  grain  of  wheat,  next  to  the 
middle  ear;  the  semicircular  canals  joined  to  the  vestibule,  and 
the  cochlea  or  snail-shell.  The  three  semicircular  canals  in  each 
ear  are  filled  with  fluid,  and  serve  as  spirit  levels  for  the  body. 
By  means  of  them  we  quickly  judge  of  the  position  of  the 
body,  especially  the  head.  A  person  whose  semicircular  canals 
have  been  destroyed  by  disease  can  rarely  be  made  dizzy,  no 
matter  how  long  his  body  is  rotated.  The  cochlea  is  directly 
connected  with  the  auditory  nerve,  and  is  the  most  important 
part  of  the  ear,  because  it  changes  the  sound  waves  into  nervous 
impulses  to  be  transmitted  to  the  hearing  center  of  the  brain. 

Some  animals,  as  fish,  have  only  an  inner  ear.  The  inner 
ear  is  the  real  organ  of  hearing.  The  external  ear  conducts 
sound  to  the  middle  ear.  The  drum  of  the  middle  ear,  with  the 
bones  and  eustachian  tube,  makes  more  clear  and  distinct  the 
sound  waves  received  from  the  outer  ear. 

Care  of  the  Ears — The  essential  parts  of  the  ear  being 
deeply  seated  in  bone,  are  in  less  danger  than  the  eyes,  and  do 
not  so  frequently  suffer  from  injury.  Still,  the  ears  do  become 
affected.  Hearing  is  thus  impaired,  and  even  destroyed. 

A  very  common  danger  results  from  carelessness  on  the 
part  of  some,  especially  young  children,  in  introducing  foreign 
bodies  into  the  ear.  Some  children  will  thoughtlessly  put  the 
end  of  a  penholder  or  pencil  into  the  auditory  canal.  A  piece 
of  lead  may  break  off  and  lodge  against  the  drum-head.  For- 


190  GRADED   LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

eign  bodies  of  this  kind  are  by  no  means  easily  removed,  and 
if  their  removal  is  attempted  by  an  unskillful  person,  the  drum- 
head may  be  punctured,  causing  •'irreparable  injury.  Water 
must  be  regarded  as  such  a  foreign  body,  liable  to  cause  injury 
if  it  fills  the  auditory  canal.  For  this  reason,  in  diving  and 
ducking  when  swimming,  we  should  stop  our  fears  with  our 
fingers. 

Temporary  deafness  may  result  from  closing  the  auditory 
canal  with  a  surplus  collection  of  wax.  If  an  attempt  is  made 
to  remove  this  with  a  pin,  toothpick,  or  other  pointed  instru- 
ment, there  is  great  danger  of  injury  to  the  drum.  The  best 
method  is  to  drop  a  little  sweet  oil  into  the  ear,  and  then  with 
warm  water  syringe  the  canal  until  it  is  clean.  If  an  insect 
should  crawl  into  the  ear,  it  can  be  killed  with  a  couple  of 
drops  of  sweet  oil  and  afterward  washed  out.  Insects  that  have 
entered  the  ear  can  sometimes  be  coaxed  out  by  holding  a  light 
quite  near  the  external  opening.  They  are  attracted  by  the 
light,  and  turn  round  and  crawl  toward  it." 

A  blow  on  the  ear  is  always  dangerous,  and  may  cause 
sudden  and  permanent  deafness.  The  force  of  the  air  com- 
pressed into  the  auditory  canal  and  against  the  drum  may  cause 
a  bursting  of  the  drum-head,  though  the  blow  itself  would  not 
be  severe  enough  to  cause  much  pain.  Loud  sounds,  such  as 
the  firing  of  a  cannon,  sometimes  cause  deafness.  As  a  rule, 
such  deafness  is  only  temporary.  If  the  loud  noises  are 
frequent  or  continuous,  permanent  deafness  may  ensue.  For 
this  reason  boiler-makers  very  often  become  deaf.  Some  drugs, 
such  as  quinine,  make  the  ears  ring.  This  disturbance  is  but 
temporary,  lasting  only  a  few  hours,  but  may,  after  a  time, 


THE   HYGIENE   OF   THE   EAR.  191 

from  excessive  doses,  develop  into  a  permanent  impairment  of 
hearing. 

Defective  Hearing  and  Dullness. — :Such  diseases  as  scarlet 
fever  and  diphtheria  frequently  cause  partial  deafness  in  one  or 
both  ears.  When  this  occurs  in  a  very  young  child,  it  is  not 
readily  detected  by  others,  and  he  grows  so  accustomed  to  his 
misfortune,  that  by  the  time  he  enters  school  he  fails  to  realize 
that  his  hearing  is  less  acute  than  that  of  other  children.  Or 
the  same  condition  may  result  from  adenoid  growths  closing 
the  air-passage  from  the  throat  to  the  middle  ear.  He  does  not 
distinctly  hear  the  questions  or  the  explanations  of  the  teacher, 
and  is  sometimes  charged  with  inattention.  For  this  reason  it 
is  well  to  have  the  hearing  as  well  as  the  eyes  of  children 
tested  on  first  entering  school.  Marked  dullness  of  children 
in  school  work  is  generally  the  direct  result  of  defective 
hearing. 


QUESTIONS  FOE  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Which  sense  is  the  more  important,  vision  or  hearing? 
Why? 

2.  What  other  senses  have  we  besides  vision  and  hearing? 

3.  Which  of  our  several  senses  is  the  first  to  go  to  sleep  when 
we  go  to  bed? 

4.  What  is  ventriloquism? 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  TEETH  AND  THEIE  CAEE. 

The  teeth  cut  and  grind  the  food  and  mix  it  with  saliva. 
Their  work  in  thus  preparing  the  food  for  digestion  in  the  stom- 
ach and  intestines  is  very  important,  and  should  be  thoroughly 
done.  It  is  necessary  that  the  teeth  be  protected  and  cared  for. 

The  teeth  are  different  from  any  other  part  of  the  body  in 
that  they  cannot,  of  themselves,  recover  from  injury.  If  the  skin 
is  torn,  a  muscle  cut,  a  bone  broken,  repair  at  once  begins  ;  they 
eventually  heal,  and  are  soon  practically  as  good  as  ever.  An 
injury  to  a  tooth  is  permanent.  It  has  no  power  to  mend 
itself,  but  is  utterly  unable  to  build  over  with  new  growth,  as 
is  the  case  with  the  other  tissues  of  the  body. 

Not  only  do  injured  or  decayed  teeth  cause  pain,  but  they 
interfere  with  the  general  health  in  various  ways.  A  person 
with  decayed  teeth  cannot  chew  his  food  fine,  if  he  would,  and 
chewing  with  such  teeth  not  only  interferes  with  the  later  di- 
gestion, but  of  itself  may  cause  pain.  If  it  is  painful  to  chew 
the  food  because  of  imperfect  teeth,  the  person  so  affected  soon 
forms  the  habit  of  bolting  his  food  without  proper  mastication. 
Again,  decayed  teeth  are  often  a  source  of  poison  to  the  blood, 
and  in  this  manner  may  also  jeopardize  the  general  health  of 
the  individual. 

192 


THE  TEETH  AND  THEIR  CARE. 


193 


Structure  of  the  Teeth. — Each  tooth  has  its  crown,  or  top ; 
its  fang,  or  root,  and  the  neck,  or  portion  between  the  crown  and 
the  root.  If  we  saw  through  a  tooth  vertically,  it  would  be 
seen  to  consist  of  several  distinct  substances  arranged  in  layers. 
In  the  interior  is  the  pulp,  a  soft  substance  supplied  with  nerves 
and  blood  vessels.  These  nerves  and  blood 
vessels  enter  the  tooth  through  a  little  hole 
at  the  tip  of  the  root.  If  a  nerve  or  the 
pulp  be  exposed  to  the  air,  pain  or  aching 
will  result.  Dentine  is  the  name  of  the 
substance  lying  next  to  the  pulp.  At  the 
crown  it  is  covered  with  enamel;  at  the  root, 
with  cement.  The  dentine  comprises  the 
larger  part  of  the  tooth,  and  is  a  form  of 
bone  tissue,  being  composed  of  both  mineral 
and  animal  matter.  The  brilliant  white 
layer,  or  enamel,  which  covers  the  tooth  at 

its  crown,  is  the  hardest  substance  of  the  FIGURE  68.-Eniarged  ver- 
tical section  of  a  Tooth. 

body.     The  enamel  is  an  armor-plate,  pro-     i.  Enamel;  2.  Dentine;  3. 
tecting  the  exposed  portion  of  the  tooth     andPnerves.BIO°d  ^^ 
from  decay.     A  small  hole  or  crack  in  the 
enamel  is  soon  followed  by  decay  of  the  dentine  and  pulp. 
The  enamel  must  be  sound  in  order  to  have  healthy  teeth. 

Kinds  of  Teeth — The  child  begins  to  get  his  first  set  of 
teeth  when  about  six  months  old,  and  soon  has  them  all,  twenty 
in  number.  Between  the  ages  of  six  and  thirteen,  according  to 
the  state  of  his  general  health,  the  teeth  of  this  temporary  set 
Begin  to  loosen,  and  are  supplanted  by  a  permanent  set  of 
twenty-eight  teeth,  half  of  which  are  in  the  upper  and  half  in 
13 


194  GRADED   LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

the  lower  jaw.  At  the  age  of  from  twenty  to  twenty-five,  four 
more  are  added.  These  latter  are  the  four  farthest  back  in  a 
complete  set,  and  are  called  "wisdom  teeth." 

The  teeth  are  divided  into  four  kinds,  because  of  their  dif- 
ferent shapes.  Beginning  at  the  middle  of  either  jaw  and 
proceeding  backwards,  we  find  the  teeth  placed  in  the  following 
order.  The  first  two  on  either  side  of  the  middle  have  chisel- 
shaped  crowns  and  are  the  incisors.  They  are  adapted  to  cut- 
ting or  biting  off  the  food.  The  third  tooth  on  either  side  is 
the  canine.  It  is  almost  round,  very  strong,  and  a  firmly  set  tooth. 
The  next  two  are  the  bicuspids,  and  have  flat  crowns.  The  next 
three  are  much  larger  than  the  others,  with  broad,  flat  crowns, 
well  suited  to  grinding  the  food.  They  are  called  the  molars. 

Care  of  the  Teeth. — We  are  careful  to  keep  our  nails  clean, 
because  our  companions  would  notice  the  dirt.  But  unclean 
teeth  are  also  open  to  such  inspection,  and  nothing  mars 
one's  appearance  more  than  unsightly,  yellow,  decayed  teeth. 
A  toothbrush  and  a  little  silk  thread  are  all-  the  machinery 
required  to  keep  the  teeth  clean.  Three  minutes  a  day  is 
ample  time  for  this  purpose.  The  preservation  of  the  teeth  is 
not  only  necessary  for  one's  appearance,  but  is  also  vital  to  the 
possession  of  the  best  health.  The  care  of  the  teeth  is  largely 
a  habit;  this  habit  once  formed,  you  would  no  more  think  of 
going  to  school  without  brushing  your  teeth  than  of  going 
without  washing  your  hands  and  face  or  brushing  your  hair. 
Teeth  that  are  kept  clean  cannot  decay.  Decay  always  begins 
upon  the  surface,  and  not  within  the  tooth.  By  cleaning  the 
teeth,  the  acid  secretions  that  attack  their  lime  salts  are 
removed,  as  well  as  the  germs  of  decay. 


THE   TEETH   AND   THEIR   CARE.  195 

Much  time  is  wasted  by  pupils  on  account  of  toothache  and 
its  companion,  earache.  One  cannot  apply  himself  to  study 
when  he  has  a  jumping,  thumping  toothache.  "A  stitch  in 
time  saves  nine."  A  toothbrush  should  be  used  at  least  twice 
daily — in  the  morning,  directly  after  breakfast,  and  in  the  even- 
ing, before  going  to  bed.  Particles  of  food,  if  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  mouth,  get  lodged  in  the  teeth,  and  decompose.  The  en- 
amel is  attacked,  and  finally  destroyed.  After  this  takes  place, 
but  a  short  time  is  required  for  the  decay  and  ulceration  of  the 
body  of  the  tooth.  The  toothbrush  used  in  cleaning  the  teeth 
should  be  soft,  and  must  not  be  employed  so  vigorously  as  to 
cause  the  gums  to  bleed.  Lukewarm  water  should  be  used ;  if 
it  contains  some  salt,  so  much  the  better  for  the  teeth.  If  a 
good  tooth  powder  cannot  be  secured,  white  castile  soap  will 
answer  very  well.  We  must  be  especially  careful  to  clean  the 
teeth  after  eating  candy  and  confections,  for  sweet  substances, 
when  they  decompose,  form  acids.  These  acids  are  severe  in 
their  attacks  on  the  lime  in  the  teeth.  With  a  soft  wood,  or  e, 
quill  toothpick,  we  can  remove  the  larger  food  particles  that 
have  collected.  Metal  toothpicks  are  injurious.  With  a  piece 
of  silk  thread,  or  a  small  rubber  band,  we  can  easily  clean  be- 
tween the  closest  fitting  teeth.  Cracking  nuts  with  the  teeth 
often  breaks  the  enamel.  It  may  also  be  cracked  by  sudden 
exposure  of  the  teeth  to  cold,  as  when  drinking  ice-water.  The 
saliva  deposits  on  the  teeth  a  yellowish  brown  substance,  called 
tartar.  This  generally  occurs  at  the  line  where  the  surface  of 
the  teeth  and  gums  meet.  If  this  deposit  is  not  removed,  it 
may  extend  toward  the  root  and  loosen  the  tooth.  The  teeth 
should  be  examined  twice  a  year  by  the  dentist,  and  any  cavi- 
ties promptly  filled. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

DISEASE  GEEMS. 

You  are  aware  of  the  harm  resulting  from  dust  entering  the 
lungs.  But  still  more  injurious  are  the  various  kinds  of  live 
dust  that  cannot  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye.  By  live  dust  we 
mean  little  organisms  called  bacteria.  Many  of  them  are  the 
causes  of  our  worst  contagious  diseases.  Some  bacteria  are 
beneficial,  others  are  harmful. 

Disease  Germs — Our  bodies  are  good  soil  for  certain  germs 
of  disease.  Some  of  these  germs  will  grow  in  the  human 
body,  but  not  in  the  body  of  an  animal.  Some  diseases,  such 
as  consumption,  are  common  to  both  man  and  animals.  The 
disease  germs  of  consumption  live,  grow,  and  nourish  as  well  in 
the  body  of  a  cow  as  in  the  body  of  a  man.  In  fact,  many 
persons  take  consumption  by  drinking  milk  from  cows  infected 
with  this  dreadful  disease.  We  know  that  the  following 
diseases  are  caused  by  germs — consumption,  typhoid  fever, 
grippe,  diphtheria,  cholera,  erysipelas,  pneumonia,  scarlet  fever, 
measles,  chicken-pox  and  small-pox.  The  little  germs,  or  bacilli, 
causing  different  diseases,  differ  from  each  other  in  their 
appearance.  The  bacilli  that  cause  typhoid  fever  do  not  and 
cannot  cause  diphtheria.  Though  these  germs  are  so  small  as 
to  be  invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  yet  when  seen  with  a  power- 
ful microscope  they  can  be  readily  distinguished  from  each 

196 


DISEASE   GERMS. 


197 


other.  To  the  student  of  the  diseases  mentioned  these  minute 
germs  appear  as  different  from  each  other  as  grains  of  wheat 
and  corn  do  to  us.  Some  of  the  best  known  forms  are  shown 
on  this  page. 


Diphtheria. 


Typhoid  Fever. 


Asiatic  Cholera. 


Hog  Cholera. 


Erysipelas. 


Consumption. 
FIGUEE  69. 


Pneumonia. 


The  Danger. — These  germs  are  about  us  on  every  hand. 
They  are  in  the  air,  in  our  food,  and  in  the  water  we  drink.  In 
pioneer  days  man  was  afraid  of  wild  animals  that  might  attack 
him  and  take  his  life.  Nowadays  we  know  that  we  may  be 
assailed  at  any  minute  by  countless  millions  of  invisible  crea- 
tures, attacking,  poisoning,  and  destroying  our  bodies,  that  they 
may  feed  themselves.  To-day  a  person  is  healthy  and  strong. 


198  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

To-morrow  he  may  drink  a  glass  of  impure  water  containing 
germs  of  typhoid  fever.  These  industrious  little  bacteria  soon 
derange  the  entire  bodily  system,  and  threaten  death.  A  person 
having  consumption  may  expectorate  on  the  floor  of  a  car,  store, 
church,  or  schoolhouse.  This  sputum  contains  thousands  of 
disease  germs  that  are  capable  of  causing  consumption  in  any 
one  whose  body  affords  suitable  soil  for  their  growth.  The 
sputum  dries.  This  drying  does  not  kill  the  germs.  They 
become  mixed  with  other  dust  in  the  air  we  breathe,  and  may 
find  lodgment  in  our  lungs. 

Conditions  Favoring  Disease  Germs — No  condition  is  more 
favorable  to  disease  germs  than  impure  air.  You  have  seen  a 
gardener's  hotbed  in  which  he  forces  the  growth  of  plants.  A 
schoolroom  improperly  ventilated  is  a  hotbed  of  infection  and 
contagion.  Impure  air  affects  the  nervous  system.  The  wide- 
awake child  becomes  listless,  drowsy,  inattentive,  and  filled  with 
fatigue  poison.  Physical  growth  is  stunted  because  children 
cannot  help  but  become  pale  and  poorly  nourished  when  they 
are  compelled  to  breathe  foul  air.  Appetite,  and  digestion  fail. 
Sleep,  after  a  day  in  a  stuffy  schoolroom,  is  disturbed  and 
broken.  In  this  condition  children  become  the  ready  prey  of 
contagious  and  infectious  disease. 

In  a  poorly  ventilated  room  the  poison  germs  of  disease  are 
concentrated.  Each  cubic  foot  of  air  is  full  of  bacteria.  In  a 
well-ventilated  schoolroom  the  victims  of  the  contagious  diseases 
are  few.  The  air  is  not  so  laden  with  disease  germs,  and  the 
child's  power  to  resist  disease  is  greater.  If  the  room  is  filled 
with  impure  air,  the  reverse  is  the  case,  and  in  such  a  school- 
room, if  one  of  the  pupils  takes  whooping-cough,  diphtheria,  or 


DISEASE  GERMS.  199 

scarlet  fever,  many,  if  not  all,  of  the  pupils  are  liable  to  contract 
the  same  disease. 

Filthy  surroundings  of  any  kind,  as  well  as  uncleanliness 
of  one's  person,  afford  the  same  favorable  conditions  for  the 
spread  of  contagious  diseases  as  does  impure  air. 

How  Disease  Germs  are  Transmitted — Some  of  the  best 
known  contagious  diseases  of  children  are  spread  as  follows: 

Chicken-Pox — Indefinite;  probably  by  the  breath,  drinking- 
cups,  and  similar  means. 

Measles — By  excretions  from  the  nose;  by  the  breath;  by 
clothing. 

Whooping- Cough — By  the  breath;  by  expectorations  from 
the  throat  and  lungs. 

Scarlet  Fever — By  contact  with  cast-off  particles  of  skin 
from  the  patient ;  carried  by  clothing  or  by  any  article  contain- 
ing the  poison;  germ  persistent  a  long  time;  can  be  destroyed 
only  by  fire  or  disinfection. 

Grippe — By  a  germ  conveyed  by  travel,  baggage,  and  in 
clothing;  contagious;  latest  authorities  isolate  cases  as  rigidly 
as  small-pox,  because  of  serious  results;  in  some  cases  even 
causes  insanity. 

Diphtheria — By  the  breath;  by  excretions  from  the  throat 
and  nose;  germ  persistent;  similar  to  scarlet  fever  germ.  Poor 
drainage,  bad  sewerage,  and  a  wet  cellar  under  the  house  are 
often  contributory  causes  of  diphtheria. 

Time  Required  by  Various  Disease  Germs. — Disease  germs 
require  a  certain  time  after  being  received  into  the  body  before 
the  symptoms  of  the  disease  they  cause  become  manifest.  The 
following  table  shows  the  period  that  elapses  in  the  different 


200 


GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 


forms  of  sickness  before  the  disease  develops  from  the  germs 
present. 


Disease 

Begins  usually  on  the 

But  may  at  any  time  between 

Scarlet  Fever 

4th  day 

1  and    7  days 

Diphtheria 

2d  day 

2*-and    5  days 

Small-pox 

12th  day 

1  and  16  days 

Chicken-pox 

14th  day 

10  and  18  days 

Typhoid  Fever 

21st  day 

1  and  28  days 

Measles 

12th  day 

10  and  15  days 

Mumps 

19th  day 

15  and  24  days 

Whooping-cough 

14th  day 

7  and  15  days 

Typhoid  Fever  and  Water  Supply.— The  relation  between 
typhoid  fever  and  impurity  of  the  water  supply  is  clearly 
shown  in  the  accompanying  diagram,  which  presents  the  com- 
parative death-rate  from  this  disease  in  the  city  of  Munich, 
Germany,  extending  over  a  period  of  thirty  years.  During  the 
period  from  1854-1859  the  inhabitants  of  Munich  drank  water 
from  wells.  The  city  had  no  system  of  sewerage,  and  consequently 
many  of  the  wells  were  contaminated  by  drainage  and  seepage. 
The  deaths  from  typhoid  fever  during  this  period  of  neglect 
were  alarming  in  their  number.  In  1866  the  city  authorities 
became  aroused,  and  began  the  construction  of  a  system  of 
sewers  for  part  of  the  city.  This  resulted  in  a  partial  im- 
provement of  the  water  supply,  and  consequently  the  deaths 
were  reduced  nearly  one-half  (see  second  column).  This  system 
of  sewerage  was  extended  in  1874  to  other  parts  of  the  city, 
and  the  improvement  of  the  water  supply  resulted  in  a  still 
further  lowering  of  the  death-rate  (see  third  column).  In  1881 


DISEASE   GERMS. 


201 


the  city  authorities  began  to  condemn  and  fill  up  many  old 
wells,  extend  the  sewerage  system,  and  they  also  gave  the 
people  purer  water  to  drink,  with  the  result  that  in 
1884  the  deaths  from  typhoid  fever  were  reduced  to 
1.4  for  every  10,000  inhabitants.  That  is,  in  1854, 
when  the  people  of  Munich  drank  impure  water,  the 
number  of  deaths  from  this  dread  disease  was  seventeen 
times  as  great  as  it  was  after  the  city  had  a  good  gen- 
eral water  supply. 

If  drinking  water  is  suspected  of  being  impure,  all 
danger  can  be  removed  by  boiling.  Disease  germs, 
such  as  typhoid  bacilli,  are  killed  by  boiling,  while 
freezing  has  little  or  no  effect  upon  them. 

How   Bacteria    Are    Destroyed.  —  Disease 
•MM     germs  are  constantly  about  us,  and  yet  in  only 
;  comparatively  few  cases  do  they  gain  a  hold 

;•••'•;       upon  the  body  and  produce  sickness.     Why 
;  are  they  not  more  successful  in  their 

'     I  ^^_     attacks  upon  the  healthy  body? 
|||    ':,  :  •  First— The  fluid  part  of  the  blood 

•  .v'lf:    :'.; '^ ;v;;      and  lymph,  called  plasma,  in  a  healthy 
Ki    '^H^'      person  is  of  such  a  chemical  nature  as 
.-;•  J-     Kfftifv     t°  be  able  to  destroy  germs  of  disease. 
*£H&    Jlli^?'1  Second — The  white  corpuscles  of  the 

;^jl       ^.^     blood  seem  to  be  especially  endowed 
%£    y:  i£.:  with  the  capacity  of  a  success- 

^   |5    Slfll  ••§     ^  detective.     They  have  the 
; $££i-    8|5ffl  power  to  seek  out  the  bacteria 

1854-1859.  1866-1873.  1874-1880.  18/884.      °f    diseaS6>  wMc 

FIGURE  ?o.  envelop  and  destroy. 


202  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

Third — Because  people  are  becoming  more  observant  of 
sanitary  rules.  If  we  keep  clean  by  washing  thoroughly  every 
day,  properly  nourish  our  bodies,  eat  digestible  foods,  take 
plenty  of  exercise  in  the  open  air,  sleep  eight  or  nine  hours 
every  night  in  well-ventilated  bedrooms,  the  microbes  of  disease 
will  soon  go  out  of  business.  Bacteria  cannot*. thrive  without 
suitable  soil,  and  the  causes  that  render  the  body  liable  to  suc- 
cessful attacks  upon  it  are  poor  nutrition  (partial  starvation), 
fatigue,  impure  air,  mental  depression,  and  unwholesome 
food. 

Antitoxin  in  Diphtheria — The  germs  of  diphtheria  can  be 
raised  outside  the  body  in  gelatine  and  beef-broth.  The  poisons 
they  produce  may  be  injected  into  the  blood  of  a  horse.  When 
this  is  done,  there  develops  in  the  plasma  of  the  horse's  blood  a 
poison  that  will  kill  the  germs  of  diphtheria.  This  germicide  is 
called  diphtheria  antitoxin.  It  can  be  drawn  off  with  the  blood 
of  the  horse.  The  blood  is  allowed  to  clot,  and  the  clear  part 
(serum)  contains  the  antitoxin.  This  is  preserved  in  tightly 
sealed  glass  tubes,  and  can  be  injected  into  the  blood  of  a  per- 
son suffering  from  diphtheria,  where  it  tends  to  overcome  the 
germs  and  cure  the  disease.  Diphtheria  antitoxin  is  being  suc- 
cessfully used  by  physicians  in  battling  against  this  dreadful 
scourge.  The  report  of  the  city  health  officer  of  Chicago  well 
illustrates  the  success  of  antitoxin  in  the  cure  of  persons  ill 
with  diphtheria.  In  the  three  years  since  the  use  of  antitoxin, 
1896-1898,  inclusive,  there  was  an  actual  saving  of  1,950 
lives  by  means  of  this  diphtheria  germ-killer  alone.  In  the 
129  cases  where  antitoxin  was  used  the  first  or  second  day  of 
the  disease,  there  was  not  a  single  death;  while  in  the  114 


DISEASE   GERMS.  203 

cases  treated  with  antitoxin  the  third  day  of  the  disease,  there 
were  but  three  deaths  from  this  disease  which  is  usually  so 
fatal. 

Vaccination — Cows  are  subject  to  a  disease  that  is  a  mild 
form  of  small-pox.  By  vaccination  this  same  disease  may  be 
transmitted  to  a  person.  If  the  vaccine  "  takes,"  it  causes  but 
little  trouble,  and  the  person  vaccinated  is  proof  against  small- 
pox. The  practice  of  vaccination  was  introduced  by  Jenner, 
who  must  be  regarded  a  benefactor  in  providing  a  means  of 
protecting  mankind  against  the  ravages  of  such  a  loathsome 
disease  as  small-pox. 

Disinfectants. — There  are  substances  that  really  destroy 
disease  germs.  Such  substances  are  called  disinfectants. 
These  chemicals  have  the  power  of  purifying  the  air  of  a  sick- 
room, and  destroying  the  germs  of  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  and 
small-pox,  that  might  be  lurking  in  the  clothing,  bedding  and 
other  articles.  There  are  three  methods  of  disinfection.  (1) 
Fire.  (2)  Dry  heat.  (3)  Chemical  poisons.  If  the  bedding, 
clothing,  and  rags  used  in  the  sick-room  in  a  case  of  scarlet 
fever,  for  example,  are  of  little  value,  they  should  be  completely 
destroyed  by  burning.  Furniture,  combs,  brushes,  and  the  like, 
should  be  washed  in  a  2  per  cent  solution  of  carbolic  acid.  A 
person  caring  for  and  handling  the  sick  person  should  wash  his 
hands  in  carbolic  acid,  2  per  cent  solution,  or  mercuric  chloride, 
one  part  to  500  parts  of  water. 

To  disinfect  a  sick-room,  after  the  patient  has  recovered,  first 
wash  the  walls  and  floors  with  soap  and  water.  If  the  charac- 
ter of  the  walls  will  not  permit  this,  they  may  be  rubbed  with 
pieces  of  fresh  bread  which  will  readily  gather  up  the  germs. 


204  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

These  should  be  immediately  burned.  The  room  should  then 
be  fumigated  by  burning  sulphur.  Copperas,  chloride  of  lime, 
and  carbolic  acid  are  the  best  chemicals  to  be  used  in  making 
solutions  for  disinfecting,  while  the  fumes  of  burning  sulphur 
will  kill  any  disease  germ  known.  Coffee,  sugar,  coal,  tar,  and 
other  substances  are  often  burned  in  a  room  to  destroy  odors. 
They  simply  neutralize  the  offensive  odor  with  one  more  pow- 
erful, but  will  not  destroy  disease  germs.  They  are  deodorizers, 
and  not  disinfectants. 

Pure  air,  pure  water,  sunlight,  and  personal  cleanliness  are 
nature's  disinfectants.  Where  these  are  present,  disease  germs 
cannot  thrive.  Let  us  always  take  advantage  of  them  that  we 
may  win  in  our  battle  against  the  six  D's :  dust,  dirt,  darkness, 
decay,  disease,  death. 


QUESTIONS  FOE  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Are  there  any  bacteria  that  are  beneficial? 

2.  How  are  some  bacteria  employed  to  rid  us  of  certain  pests, 
such  as  the  chinch  bug,  which  destroys  fields  of  grain  in  many 
localities? 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SOME  DISEASES   OF   MODERN  LIFE. 

There  are  a  number  of  diseases  that  were  practically  un- 
known in  ancient  times,  when  people  lived  more  simply.  In 
this  day  and  age,  with  its  rush  and  pressure,  the  sharp  compe- 
tition on  every  hand,  the  changed  conditions  of  living,  the  in- 
creased liability  to  fatigue,  and  the  greater  tendency  to  use 
stimulants  and  drugs  have  caused  forms  of  disease  to  develop 
that  are  peculiar  to  modern  life.  Not  only  is  there  greater 
liability  to  the  forms  of  disease  resulting  from  overcrowding  in 
certain  districts  of  our  larger  cities,  but  nervous  disorders,  due 
to  excitement,  worry,  overwork,  the  use  of  narcotic  drugs  and 
alcoholic  drinks,  are  on  the  increase. 

Dr.  Baer,  of  the  Imperial  Board  of  Health  and  chief  prison 
physician  at  Berlin,  writes :  "  In  the  past  wine  was  used  al- 
most wholly  by  the  well-to-do  classes,  and  beer  was  of  such  a 
nature  that  harm  was  out  of  the  question.  Excessive  use  of 
alcohol  first  began  with  the  art  of  distillation,  and  with  the 
obtaining  of  strong  concentrated  whisky  from  corn,  potatoes, 
and  the  like.  With  the  increased  use  of  whisky  a  series  of 
diseased  conditions  has  appeared,  which  are  designated  by  the 
word  'alcoholism.' 

"The  climate  is  an  important  factor.  Drunkenness  is  more 
frequent  in  cold  than  in  warm  countries,  and  is  more  brutal 
and  injurious  in  its  effects  as  we  go  north.  Yet  this  is  not 

205 


206  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

always  true,  for  in  tropical  regions  it  is  at  present  spreading 
fast,  and  with  great  injury,  especially  in  newly  discovered 
lands.  The  accustoming  oneself  to  the  use  of  alcohol  causes, 
sooner  or  later,  a  feeling  of  heed  for  it;  alcoholism  is  not, 
therefore,  an  inborn,  instinctive  need,  but  an  acquired  one. 
Experience  teaches  that  the  longer  this  vice  £xists  in  a  nation, 
the  greater  the  vice  becomes.  Persons  who  use  alcoholic 
drinks,  especially  whisky,  often  become  sick  and  die  sooner 
than  the  moderate  drinkers  and  non-drinkers.  When  alcohol 
is  taken  habitually  it  injures  the  whole  constitution;  all  tissues 
and  organs,  and  especially  the  blood,  manifest  sooner  or  later  a 
changed  condition,  with  which  susceptibility  to  disease  is 
increased.  Alcohol  intoxication  not  only  calls  out  diseases  and 
disturbances  that  the  non-drinker  does  not  have,  but  it  is  an 
old  experience  that  in  epidemics  of  cholera,  dysentery  and 
smallpox,  drinkers  are  attacked  in  larger  numbers,  and  with 
greater  intensity,  than  non-drinkers.  The  bad  constitution  of 
the  blood,  the  weakness  of  the  changed  heart-muscles,  the 
sunken  energy  of  the  nervous  functions,  and  the  frequent 
accompanying  disease  of  the  brain,  cause  a  bad  turn  in  every 
disease,  and  a  high  death  rate." 

Says  Dr.  Legrain,the  celebrated  French  specialist:  "Although 
the  effects  of  alcohol  may  be  only  temporary  and  without  seri- 
ous consequences  in  a  man  with  a  good  constitution,  who  takes 
it  in  small  quantities  on  rare  occasions,  it  produces  lasting 
effects  in  a  man  of  less  resistance  when  taken  frequently  arid 
in  large  quantities.  Alcohol  is  not  only  a  poison  for  the  indi- 
vidual. First  considered  as  a  poison,  then  as  a  remedy,  and  in 
the  sixteenth  century  as  a  universal  panacea,  which  for  long 


SOME   DISEASES  OF   MODERN   LIFE.  207 

the  rich  only  were  able  to  afford,  alcohol  has  become  by  degrees 
an  article  of  general  consumption;  it  has  become  a  poison  for 
the  human  race  from  the  day  when,  the  demand  exceeding  the 
supply,  it  had  to  be  prepared  from  all  substances  capable  of 
fermentation. 

"  The  adulteration  of  good  and  pure  alcohol  for  the  purpose 
of  making  it  meet  the  wants  which  have  grown  up  everywhere 
in  modern  society,  has  been  one  of  the  most  powerful  factors 
for  the  degeneration  of  our  race.  Moreover,  alcohol  has  been 
a  more  dangerous  means  of  conquest  than  perhaps  the  cannon. 
Introduced  to  the  savage  tribes,  the  fire-water  has  done  more 
damage  than  war. 

"The  progress  of  commerce  and  its  manifold  openings  has 
made  alcohol  accessible  to  tribes  hitherto  untouched  by  civiliza- 
tion. The  consumption  of  wine,  formerly  reserved  for  the  rich, 
has  increased  everywhere  and  has  become  the  ordinary  drink. 
The  artificial  want  thus  created  has  caused  the  manufacture  of 
fermented  liquors  to  increase." 

Diseases  Due  to  Alcohol  and  Narcotics. — The  injury  that 
is  wrought  by  alcoholic  drinks  and  narcotics  occurs  chiefly 
through  the  direct  effect  upon  the  nervous  system.  First,  there 
are  certain  acute  diseases  caused  by  the  direct  injury  of  alcohol 
to  the  nerves  and  the  brain.  Second,  there  are  diseases  of  the 
other  parts  of  the  body  because  of  the  influence  of  alcoholic 
drinks  upon  the  nerves  that  govern  the  nutrition  of  these  organs. 

"Alcohol  is  a  terribly  frequent  cause  of  nervous  diseases. 
In  over-stimulating  the  brain  and  spinal  cord,  it  impairs  their 
structure,  weakens  their  functions,  and  often  leads  to  insanity 
and  crime. 


208  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

"A  small  quantity  of  wine  or  spirits,  taken  by  one  not 
accustomed  to  it,  congests  and  excites  the  brain;  the  person 
gets  restless  and  talkative,  then  dizzy  and  unable  to  think 
clearly.  He  is  soon  overcome 'by  sleep,  and  on  awaking  feels 
out  of  sorts. 

"  If  the  dose  be  increased,  the  talkativeness  is  accompanied 
by  indistinct  speech,  and  the  dizziness  by  trembling  hands  and 
a  staggering  walk,  both  showing  loss  of  control  over  the  volun- 
tary muscles  and  the  will.  The  sense  of  touch  is  dulled;  the 
eyeballs  do  not  move  together  so  as  to  look  exactly  at  the  same 
point  at  the  same  moment,  and  objects  accordingly  appear 
double.  (You  may  imitate  this  effect  by  pushing  one  eyeball 
gently  while  looking  with  both  eyes  at  something.)  Then  fol- 
lows profound  drunken  sleep,  which  may  pass  into  a  condition 
of  deep  unconsciousness  from  which  the  person  cannot  be 
aroused,  and  in  which  the  breathing  is  slow  and  labored  because 
the  involuntary  nerve-centers  which  govern  the  breathing-mus- 
cles are  affected.  Sometimes  these  centers  become  at  last  quite 
paralyzed  and  death  results,  but  more  often  the  man  sleeps  off 
his  drunken  fit,  to  awaken  with  a  state  of  his  nerves  to  be 
relieved  only  by  renewed  drinking,  followed  each  time  by  worse 
results. 

"  The  nerve-centers,  however,  soon  get  used  to  the  stimulant ; 
it  takes  a  larger  amount  each  time  to  make  them  unsteady,  but 
all  the  while  brain  and  spinal  cord  are  becoming  surely,  even 
if  slowly,  diseased." — Professor  Martin,  of  Johns  Hopkins 
University. 

"The  first  effect  that  alcohol  has  on  the  brain  is  that  of  a 
stimulant,  and  it  probably  acts  as  such  in  two  ways;  namely, 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN   LIFE.  209 

by  increasing  the  circulation  of  the  blood  through  the  brain, 
which  is  thus  roused  to  greater  vigor,  and  by  directly  stimulat- 
ing the  nerve  cells  of  the  nerve-centers.  This  stimulating 
effect  is  observed  chiefly  after  medium  doses,  and  its  result  is 
seen  in  many  individuals  by  an  increase  of  mental  and  bodily 
activity,  and  of  acuteness  of  perception  by  the  special  senses. 
This  beneficial  physiological  effect  is,  however,  soon  replaced  by 
poisonous  symptoms  if  these  small  doses  are  repeated,  or  a  large 
quantity  of  alcohol  is  taken  at  once;  for  alcohol  then  becomes 
a  depressant  and  paralyzer  of  the  central  nervous  system,  and 
symptoms  of  intoxication  appear.  This  depressing  effect  is, 
as  Brunton  points  out,  a  form  of  paralysis.  The  higher  centers 
of  the  brain  are  first  affected,  and  then  the  lower.  The  percep- 
tive centers  are  paralyzed  so  that  correct  judgment  is  no  longer 
possible,  while  the  emotions  are  uncontrolled  and  thrown  out  of 
working  gear,  fits  of  boisterous  hilarity  and  emotional  depression 
being  common  symptoms.  Speech  becomes  disordered,  and 
symptoms  of  loss  of  control  of  the  muscles,  due  probably  to  an 
effect  on  the  cerebellum,  appear.  The  breathing  center  in  the 
medulla  then  becomes  affected,  and  at  this  stage  there  is  deep 
unconsciousness  with  hoarse  breathing  or  snoring,  while  the 
action  of  the  heart  still  continues,  even  after  respiration  has 
stopped.  There  is  no  question  that  alcohol  taken  in  such 
quantities,  sufficient  to  act  upon  the  higher  centers  of  the  brain, 
does  an  infinite  amount  of  harm." — Dr.  Murphy. 

That  there  are  many  cases  of  nervous  disease  directly  due 

to  the  excessive    use  of   alcoholic  stimulants,  narcotics,  and 

drugs,  is  plainly  shown  by  a  glance  at  the  records  on  file  in 

connection  with  the  case  histories  at  our  various  insane  hos- 

14 


210  GRADED  LESSONS  IN   HYGIENE. 

pitals  and  sanitariums.  There  "is  scarcely  any  form  of  insanity 
that  cannot  be  occasioned  by  the  alcoholic  habit.  Of  course 
there  are  many  patients  in  our  insane  hospitals  who  have 
never  used  alcohol,  but  there  ?is  not  a  single  form  of  insanity 
known  to  the  brain  specialists  of  to-day  that  cannot  be  pro- 
duced by  alcoholism. 

In  one  person  alcoholic  excess  will  produce  a  state  of  con- 
tinued excitability  (mania).  In  another  there  will  be  continued 
depression  and  sadness,  with  tendency  to  suicide  (melancholia). 
Then  in  still  others  we  have  a  shrinkage  of  the  brain  cells — 
a  brain  hardening — resulting  in  general  paralysis.  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  in  my  experience  while  engaged  in  examining 
patients  on  their  admission  to  one  of  the  largest  insane  hos- 
pitals in  the  world,  I  have  found  many  cases  of  emotional  in- 
sanity, of  mania  to  commit  murder,  of  a  general  and  progressive 
mental  weakness,  of  delusions  of  persecution,  of  an  uncontrol- 
lable desire  to  set  fire  to  buildings  and  destroy  property,  of 
changed  and  disordered  senses,  of  depraved  pastes  with  love 
for  filth  and  a  mania  to  live  like  an  animal,  of  fixed  ideas  that 
the  food  was  poisoned,  with  refusal  to  eat,  requiring  forced 
feeding,  of  extraordinary  ideas  of  grandeur  and  wealth — all  of 
these  forms  of  mental  disease  and  many  others,  arising  from 
alcoholic  excesses. 

Dipsomania  is  the  name  given  to  a  form  of  mental  and 
nervous  disease  in  which  there  is  such  strong  craving  for  drink 
that  the  person  is  not  responsible  for  his  acts  committed  to 
secure  alcohol.  It  becomes  a  mad  thirst.  He  is  insane.  In 
one  case  with  which  I  am  familiar  a  man  cut  off  his  hand  with 
an  ax  and  called  for  rum  in  which  to  immerse  the  bleeding 


SOME   DISEASES   OF   MODERN   LIFE.  211 

stump  of  his  arm.  When  the  rum  was  brought  he  drank  it, 
unmindful  of  his  suffering.  This  man  maimed  himself  for  life 
to  satisfy  for  a  brief  moment  his  mad  thirst  for  drink.  He  was 
adjudged  insane  and  sent  to  the  state  hospital.  His  disease 
was  dipsomania. 

Delirium  Tremens  is  a  form  of  temporary  mental  disease, 
due  alone  to  alcoholic  excess  in  persons  whose  nervous  systems 
have  been  poisoned  and  shattered  by  the  prolonged  use  of  large 
quantities  ot  alcoholic  spirits.  At  the  height  of  the  attack  the 
person  is  a  raving  maniac.  In  his  racked  mental  condition  he 
has  illusions  of  sight,  and  sees  foul  and  terrible  creeping  things 
crawling  about  his_  room  and  over  his  body. 

NARCOTICS. 

Some  drugs  have  the  power  of  making  the  cells  of  the  brain 
unable  to  work  for  a  time.  They  stupefy  the  brain,  deaden 
the  senses,  and  produce  what  seems  to  be  sound  sleep.  Any 
substance  that  thus  deadens  the  senses  and  tends  to  produce 
unconsciousness  is  a  narcotic.  Morphine,  opium,  chloral,  co- 
caine, laudanum,  chloroform,  ether,  and  the  bromides  of  sodium 
and  potassium  are  narcotics.  Tobacco  has  the  effect  of  a  nar- 
cotic on  most  people.  At  certain  periods  of  a  disease,  as  in  the 
delirium  of  a  fever,  when  sleep  must  be  secured,  or  in  a  surgi- 
cal operation  when  the  unconscious  stupor  of  the  patient  is 
necessary  to  success,  the  narcotic  drugs  are  a  great  boon.  They 
have  their  priceless  value  as  medicine,  but  like  other  medi- 
cines, should  be  given  at  the  proper  time  and  in  proper  doses 
prescribed  by  the  physician  in  charge.  Taken  habitually,  the 


212  GRADED  LESSONS   IN   HYGIENE. 

narcotics  cause  diseased  conditions  to  arise,  shatter  the  nervous 
system,  and  weaken  the  mind. 

We  must,  however,  distinguish  between  the  two  classes  of 
poisons  that  mar  the  health  and  occasion  many  of  the  diseases 
of  modern  life.  There  are  certain  poisons  imposed  upon  a  man 
because  of  the  occupation  he  pursues.  Workers  in  lead,  mer- 
cury and  sulphur  of  carbon  are  quite  apt  to  become  diseased  by 
the  slow  poison  of  these  substances.  The  antimony  poisoning 
of  the  type-setter  is  a  disease  known  only  to  the  present 
generation,  and  is  due  to  the  continual  handling  of  type  con- 
taining this  metal. 

But  the  poisons  that  cause  by  far  the  greatest  havoc  are 
those  sought  voluntarily  by  a  man  on  account  of  the  pleasures 
they  give,  such  as  morphine,  cocaine,  opium,  and  hashish. 
The  abuse  of  morphine  has  greatly  increased  the  last  few  years. 
The  morphine  habit  is  most  vicious.  It  impairs  the  mental 
traits,  deadens  the  senses,  weakens  the  will,  destroys  the 
memory,  and  blunts  all  moral  sense.  No*  opium  fiend  or 
victim  of  the  morphine  habit  can  ever  be  believed.  He  seems 
unable  to  tell  the  truth. 

Opium  is  a  gummy  substance  gained  from  the  poppy.  It 
is  used  in  various  forms.  (1)  Gum  opium,  which  is  rolled  up 
in  pills  and  smoked;  (2)  laudanum,  a  solution  of  alcohol  and 
opium;  (3)  sulphate  of  morphia,  or  morphine,  and  solutions 
containing  it;  (4)  paregoric,  soothing  syrup  and  various  patent 
medicines  containing  opium  as  an  important  ingredient.  There 
are  people  who  become  addicted  to  the  patent  medicine  habit 
much  as  the  drunkard  becomes  enslaved  to  the  alcoholic  habit. 
The  stupor  caused  by  these  patent  medicines  is  as  bad  in  every 


SOME   DISEASES   OF   MODERN  LIFE.  213 

way  as  the  ill  effects  of  opium  smoking  or  alcoholic  excess. 
Patent  medicine  drunkenness  is  just  as  bad  as  any  other  form 
of  drunkenness.  The  continued  use  of  opium  deranges  alT  the 
digestive  processes,  diseases  the  brain  and  nervous  system  and 
degrades  the  character. 

Self-Control  and  the  Appetites. — One  of  the  most  serious 
effects  of  continued  indulgence  of  the  appetites  is  the  weakening 
of  the  will.  No  one  should  eat  food  that  is  harmful  simply 
because  it  tastes  well.  There  are  foods  that  please  the  palate 
but  which,  if  eaten,  would  ruin  the  digestion.  We  should 
always  deny  ourselves  unwholesome  foods  or  drinks,  however 
much  we  may  "like"  them.  By  doing  this  we  insure  ourselves 
not  only  the  possession  of  healthy  bodies,  but  we  exercise 
control  over  the  appetites  and  thus  greatly  strengthen  the  will. 
Every  act  of  self-control  strengthens  the  will.  Success  in  life 
is  assured  to  the  person  who  has  developed  a  strong,  sturdy, 
determined  will.  He  will  leave  no  duty  undone ;  all  his  obli- 
gations will  be  squarely  met;  promises  will  always  be  kept, 
and  no  pledge  unfulfilled. 

WILL. 

There  is  no  chance,  no  destiny,  no  fate, 

Can  circumvent,  or  hinder,  or  control 

The  firm  resolve  of  a  determined  soul. 

Gifts  count  for  nothing:     Will  alone  is  great, 

All  things  give  way  before  it  soon  or  late. 

What  obstacle  can  stay  the  mighty  force 

Of  the  sea-seeking  river  in  its  course, 

Or  cause  the  ascending  orb  of  day  to  wait  ? 


214:  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

Each  well-born  soul  must  win  what  it  deserves. 

Let  the  fool  prate  of  luck — the  fortunate  is  he 

Whose  earnest  purpose  never  swerves, 

Whose  slightest  action  61*  inaction  serves 

The  one  great  aim.     Why,  even  Death  stands  still 

And  waits  an  hour  sometimes  for  such  a  will ! 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EFFECTS   OF   THE  CONTINUED 

USE  OF  ALCOHOLIC  DRINKS  UPON  VARIOUS 

BODILY  ORGANS. 

The  stomach  becomes  inflamed.  It  fails  to  properly  se- 
crete the  gastric  juice.  Indigestion  results. 

"  It  is  commonly  thought  that  alcoholic  drinks  act  as 
aids  to  digestion.  In  reality  it  would  appear  that  the  con- 
trary is  the  case." — G.  Bunge,  Professor  of  Physiological 
Chemistry  at  Basle,  Switzerland. 

"  The  first  effect  of  alcohol  on  the  process  of  digestion  is 
to  precipitate  the  pepsin  of  the  gastric  juice.  Its  habitual 
use  brings  about  exhaustion  of  the  glands  by  overwork,  a 
chronic  congestion  of  the  blood-vessels,  which  conditions  re- 
sult in  some  of  the  worst  forms  of  dyspepsia." — Brinckley. 

The  liver  hardens  and  shrinks.  This  unfits  it  to  perform 
its  important  duties.  When  the  liver  is  "  out  of  order  "  the 
general  health  is  sure  to  be  impaired. 

The  shin  has  an  increased  amount  of  blood  sent  to  it. 
The  glands  are  hindered  in  their  activity  so  necessary  to' 
the  preservation  of  health.     More  work  is  thus  thrown  upon 
the  kidneys. 

The  kidneys  are  stimulated  to  work  beyond  their  power 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE.  215 

in  removing  waste  products.  This  overwork  may  cause  dis- 
eased conditions  to  arise  (Bright's  disease). 

"  Waste  matter  is  not  so  easily  disposed  of  when  alcohol 
is  present." — W.  N.  Edwards,  M.  D. 

The  muscles  lose  strength,  partly  because  of  increased 
fat;  their  power  of  endurance  is  also  lessened. 

The  following  statement  of  Mr.  Hornaday  is  the  testi- 
mony of  a  naturalist,  speaking  from  careful  observations 
made  while  on  his  exploring  trip  in  the  tropics : 

"  While  a  traveler  or  hunter  should  never  drink  brandy 
or  whiskey  as  a  beverage,  it  is  a  most  excellent  thing  to 
have  in  many  cases  of  sickness  or  accident  when  a  powerful 
stimulant  is  necessary.  Above  all  things,  however,  which  go 
farthest  toward  preserving  the  life  of  the  traveler  against 
diseases  and  death  by  accident,  and  which  every  naturalist 
especially  should  take  with  him  wherever  he  goes,  are  habits 
of  strict  temperance.  In  the  tropics,  nothing  is  so  deadly 
as  the  drinking  habit,  for  it  speedily  paves  the  way  for 
various  kinds  of  disease  which  are  always  charged  to  the 
account  of  '  the  accursed  climate.'  If  a  temperate  man 
falls  ill  or  meets  with  an  accident,  his  system  responds  so 
readily  to  remedies  and  moderate  stimulants  that  his  chances 
of  recovery  are  a  hundred  per  cent  better  than  those  of  the 
man  whose  constitution  has  been  undermined  by  strong 
drink.  There  are  plenty  of  men  who  will  say  that  in  the 
tropics  a  little  liquor  is  necessary,  '  a  good  thing,'  etc. ;  but 
let  me  tell  you  that  it  is  no  such  thing,  and  if  necessary  I 
could  pile  up  a  mountain  of  evidence  to  prove  it.  The  rec- 
ords show  most  conclusively  that  it  is  the  men  who  totally 


216  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

abstain  from  the  use  of  spirits  as  a  beverage  who  last  long- 
est, have  the  least  sickness,  and  do  the  most  and  best  work. 
As  a  general  rule,  an  energetic  brandy  drinker  in  the  jungle 
is  not  worth  his  salt,  and  as  a  companion  in  a  serious  under- 
taking is  not  even  to  be  regarded  as  a  possible  candidate." 
-W.  T.  Hornaday. 

"  My  experience  is  fixed  by  the  experience  and  observa- 
tion of  a  lifetime  that  the  regular  and  routine  employment 
of  alcoholic  stimulants  by  a  man  in  health  is  never,  under 
any  circumstances,  useful.  I  make  no  exception  in  favor 
of  cold,  heat,  or  rain,  nor  indeed  in  favor  of  old  drinkers, 
when  we  consider  them  as  soldiers." — Surgeon-General  Ham- 
ilton, U.  S.  A. 

The  blood  becomes  of  poorer  quality.  Its  corpuscles  can- 
not carry  so  much  oxygen  to  the  tissues  of  the  body.  The 
temperature  of  the  body  is  not  normal. 

The  heart  is  overstimulated,  and  is  deprived  of  the  rest 
it  needs  in  order  to  maintain  healthy  regular  activity.  The 
walls  of  the  arteries  are  weakened  by  means  of  fatty  de- 
posits. 

In  the  lungs  the  walls  of  the  air-cells  may  become  thick- 
ened and  lose  their  elasticity.  The  size  of  the  air-sacs  is 
gradually  reduced,  thus  decreasing  the  breathing  capacity 
of  the  lungs. 

"  In  most  persons  alcohol  acts  at  once  as  an  anaesthetic, 
and  lessens  the  rapidity  of  impressions  and  the  perfection 
of  the  senses.  In  other  cases  it  seems  to  cause  increased 
rapidity  of  thought  and  excites  imagination,  but  even  here 
the  power  of  control  over  a  train  of  thought  is  lessened.  In 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE.  217 

the  great  siege  of  Gibraltar,  Sir  George  Elliot,  who  was  a 
teetotaler,  enforced  the  most  rigid  temperance,  and  the  long 
and  arduous  blockade  was  passed  through  with  remarkably 
little  sickness.  At  the  siege  of  Jellalabad  in  Afghanistan, 
'  the  illustrious  garrison '  were  quite  destitute  of  all  alcoholic 
liquors,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the  officers,  the  Europeans 
had  never  been  so  healthy,  cheerful,  martial  and  enduring, 
and  free  from  crime.  During  the  Indian  mutiny  many  regi- 
ments were  debarred  from  spirits  for  a  long  time,  and  were 
much  healthier  than  when  they  got  them." — E.  A.  Parkes, 
M.D. 

Of  all  the  organs,  the  nerves  and  the  brain  are  probably 
the  most  seriously  affected  by  drugs  and  alcohol.  Senses 
are  blunted,  there  is  overstimulation  of  the  cells  in  brain 
and  spinal  cord.  Delirium  tremens,  dipsomania,  and  other 
nervous  and  mental  diseases  may  ensue. 

"  It  is  possible  for  nearly  every  known  mental  disease 
to  have  its  genesis  in  alcoholism." — Kraft-Ebbing,  Vienna. 

"  The  influence  of  all  drugs  which  affect  the  nervous  sys- 
tem must  be  in  the  direction  of  disintegration.  The  healthy 
mind  stands  in  clear  and  normal  relations  with  nature.  It 
feels  pain  as  pain.  It  feels  action  as  pleasure.  The  drug 
which  conceals  pain  or  gives  false  pleasure  when  pleasure 
does  not  exist,  forces  a  lue  upon  the  nervous  system.  The 
drug  which  disposes  to  reverie  rather  than  to  work,  which 
makes  us  feel  well  when  we  are  not  well,  destroys  the  sanity 
of  life.  All  stimulants,  narcotics,  tonics  which  affect  the 
nervous  system  in  whatever  way  reduce  the  truthfulness  of 
sensation,  thought,  and  action.  Toward  insanity  all  such 


218  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

influences  lead,  and  their  effect,  slight  though  it  be,  is  of  the 
same  nature  as  mania.  The  man  who  would  see  clearly, 
think  truthfully,  and  act  effectively,  must  avoid  them  all. 
Emergency  aside,  he  cannot  safely  force  upon  his  nervous 
system  even  the  smallest  falsehood.  And  here  lies  the  one 
great  unanswerable  argument  for  total  abstinence — not  ab- 
stinence from  alcohol  alone,  but  from  all  nerve  poisons  and 
emotional  excesses." — David  Starr  Jordan. 

"  Through  the  use  of  alcohol  the  brain  is  so  affected 
that  intellectual  power  is  diminished,  and  frequently  lost. 
The  slave  to  alcohol  is  not  inclined  to  mental  exertion  of 
any  sort.  He  gradually  loses  the  power  of  consecutive  and 
sustained  power  upon  any  subject.  It  is  hard  for  him  to 
maintain  a  conversation  upon  even  the  most  commonplace 
topics.  He  is  unable  to  comprehend  his  own  degradation, 
and  still  he  has  no  sense  of  self-respect.  Finally,  his  memory 
begins  to  fail,  his  powers  of  reasoning  and  judgment  are  lost, 
and  he  becomes  unfit  to  maintain  the  ordinary  relations  of 
life  with  his  fellow-men.  This  condition,  it  is  well  to  re- 
member, has  been  brought  about  by  the  action  of  alcohol 
upon  the  tissues  composing  the  organs  that  are  concerned  in 
the  various  life  processes,  thereby  interfering  with  the  nutri- 
tion of  those  organs,  and  of  the  entire  system,  deranging 
the  action  of  the  nervous  system,  and  disturbing  the  brain 
itself.  Alcohol  is  the  most  common  cause  of  insanity." — 
W.  E.  Baldwin,  M.  D. 

"  Helmholtz  has  said,  in  describing  his  method  of  work, 
that  slight  indulgence  in  alcoholic  drinks  dispelled  instantly 
his  best  ideas.  Professor  Gaule  once  told  the  writer  that, 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE.  219 

as  an  experiment  during  the  strain  of  his  i  Staatsexamen/ 
he  suddenly  stopped  his  wine  and  beer,  and  was  surprised 
to  find  how  much  better  he  could  work.  An  eminent  pro- 
fessor in  Leipsic  once  said  that  the  German  students  could 
do  '  twice  the  amount  of  work  7  if  they  would  let  their  beer 
alone.  Dr.  August  Smith  has  found  that  moderate  non-in- 
toxicant doses  of  alcohol  (forty  to  eighty  centimeters  daily) 
lowered  psychic  ability  to  memorize  as  much  as  seventy  per 
cent." — C.  F.  Hodge,  Professor  of  Neurology,  Clark  Uni- 
versity, Worcester,  Mass. 

"  Alcohol  is,  in  the  first  place,  a  brain  poison.  What 
do  heart  or  liver  diseases,  what  does  death  even,  signify  in 
comparison  with  an  unbalanced  mind  ?  Mental  disorders  are 
far  worse  than  death,  for  they  destroy  the  germ  of  human 
personality,  the  humanity  in  man.  The  poisoning  of  the 
brain  by  alcohol  is  all-pervasive.  We  need  not  descend  to 
the  drunkard.  In  looking  at  the  moderate  drinker  we  see 
that  his  sensibilities  are  less  fine,  he  cares  less  for  the  strict 
truth,  he  is  more  negligent  of  the  proprieties,  less  active 
mentally,  etc." — Dr.  August  Forel,  Professor  of  Psychiatry 
at  University  of  Zurich;  Director  of  Insane  Asylum,  Bor- 
gholzli. 

"  All  indications  point  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  the 
nervous  tissue  which  is  especially  exposed  to  the  cumulative 
action  of  the  alcoholic  poison.  The  alcohol  sets  up  a  chem- 
ical action  in  the  nervous  tissue  which  at  first  inaugurates 
only  imperceptible  changes,  but  once  inaugurated,  the  poison 
goes  on  until  the  tissue  passes  into  a  permanently  diseased 
condition." — A.  Strumpell,  M.  D.,  Berlin. 


220  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

"  The  first  effect  that  alcohol  has  on  the  brain  is  that 
of  a  stimulant,  and  it  probably  acts  as  such  in  two  ways, 
namely,  by  increasing  the  circulation  of  blood  through  the 
brain,  which  is  thus  roused  to  greater  vigor,  and  by  directly 
stimulating  the  nerve-cells  of  the  nerve  centers.  This  stimu- 
lating effect  is  observed  chiefly  after  medium  or  dietetic 
doses,  and  its  result  is  seen  in  many  individuals  by  an  in- 
crease of  mental  and  bodily  activity,  and  of  acuteness  of  per- 
ception by  the  special  senses.  This  beneficial  physiological 
effect  is,  however,  soon  replaced  by  poisonous  symptoms,  if 
the  dietetic  doses  are  too  often  repeated,  or  if  a  large  quan- 
tity of  alcohol  is  taken  at  once;  for  alcohol  then  becomes  a 
depressant  and  paralyzer  of  the  central  nervous  system,  and 
symptoms  of  intoxication  appear.  This  depressant  effect  is, 
as  Brunton  points  out,  one  of  progressive  paralysis.  The 
higher  centers  of  the  brain  are  affected,  and  then  the  lower. 
The  perceptive  centers  are  paralyzed  so  that  correct  judg- 
ment is  no  longer  possible,  while  the  emotions  are  uncon- 
trolled and  thrown  out  of  working  gear,  fits  of  boisterous 
hilarity  and  of  emotional  depression  being  common  symp- 
toms. Speech  becomes  disordered,  and  symptoms  of  inco- 
ordination,  due  probably  to  an  effect  on  the  cerebellum,  ap- 
pear. The  respiratory  center  in  the  medulla  then  becomes 
affected,  and  at  this  stage  there  is  coma  with  stertorous 
breathing,  while  the  'action  of  the  heart  still  continues,  even 
after  respiration  has  stopped.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  alcohol  taken  in  sufficient  quantities  to  depress  the 
higher  centers  of  the  brain  does  an  infinite  amount  of  harm. 

"  I  have  often  been  made  impatient  in  listening  to  the 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE.  221 

lecturer  presenting  the  '  scientific  aspects  of  the  alcohol  ques- 
tion '  to  an  audience,  to  see  him  illustrate  extensively  with 
charts,  and  spend  hours  to  show  the  effects  of  alcohol  upon 
the  coats  of  the  stomach,  and  upon  the  structure  of  the  liver 
and  kidneys,  and  never  allude  once  to  the  brain,  when  the 
fact  is  that  alcohol's  principal  effect  is  upon  this  organ,  and 
the  functions  of  this  organ  so  far  transcend  the  functions 
of  all  others  that  I  might  say  there  is  no  comparison." — 
Crothers. 

"  The  children  of  drinking  parents  do  not  inherit  a 
healthy  nervous  system.  It  has  been  shown  that  a  large 
percentage — i.  e.,  about  half  of  the  institutions  for  feeble- 
minded children,  for  epileptics,  and  for  deaf-mutes — are  the 
children  of  drinking  parents." — Dr.  Adolf  Frick,  Zurich. 

"  Alcohol  in  the  body  acts  as  a  paralyzant  on  certain 
portions  of  the  brain,  destroying  the  more  delicate  degrees 
of  attention,  judgment,  and  reflective  thought." — Graham 
LusTc,  M.  D. 

"  Alcohol  acts  injuriously  on  the  judgment  and  power  of 
self-control,  and  never  improves  the  person  who  takes  it. 
Men  are  injured  without  knowing  it,  and  by  slow  degrees 
so  poisoned  that  their  health  is  enfeebled  and  their  life  is, 
on  the  average,  cut  short." — J.  J.  Ridge,  M.  D. 

i  The  most  serious  and  widespread  derangement  of  the 
natural  taste  is  that  caused  by  alcohol  drinks.  Alcohol  has 
been  demonstrated  to  be  a  poison.  Its  continued  use,  even 
in  what  is  called  moderate  quantities,  will  pave  the  way  for 
many  diseases,  some  of  which  are  sure  to  overtake  those  who 
have  the  habit  of  using  drinks  with  alcohol  in  them.  When 


222  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

it  is  seen  that  by  the  use  of  alcohol  an  intelligent  man  may 
act  without  reason;  that  a  kind-hearted  man  may  become 
brutal  to  his  most  loved  friends ;  that  it  may  cause  an  honor- 
able man  to  become  a  dishonorable  one;  that  it  may  make 
a  noble  nature  become  one  with  the  most  depraved  of  tastes ; 
when  its  use  has  over  and  over  again  been  { the  cause  of  dis- 
appointment, of  intense  suffering,  and  of  crime,  it  would 
seem  that  vastly  stronger  reasons  existed  against  its  use  than 
the  mere  fact  that  some  slight  changes  in  the  tissues  occur 
which  might  possibly  be  demonstrated.  It  is  to  avoid  these 
serious  results  that  the  use  of  alcohol  is  to  be  shunned,  and 
not  simply  to  avoid  a  differently  shaped  liver." — Dr.  Jenkins. 

Alcohol  affects  the  eyes  in  lessening  the  quickness  and 
acuteness  of  vision.  Scougal  and  other  authorities  affirm 
that  the  quickness  of  hearing  is  impaired  by  the  use  of  alco- 
holic drinks. 

The  harmful  effect  of  tobacco  upon  the  immature  organ- 
ism of  the  growing  boy  is  always  in  evidence. 

"  The  use  of  cigarettes  affects  the  nervous  system,  weak- 
ens the  will-power,  and  destroys  the  ability  of  the  boy  to 
resist  temptation.  Because  of  this  he  easily  falls  a  victim 
to  those  'habits  which  not  only  destroy  the  body,  mind,  and 
soul,  but  irresistibly  lead  him  into  a  violation  of  the  laws 
of  his  State." — Hon.  George  Torrence,  Superintendent  Illi- 
nois Reformatory. 

"  My  observation  of  eye  diseases  extending  through  a 
period  of  more  than  twenty-five  years  has  convinced  me  that, 
besides  the  pernicious  effects  of  tobacco  in  other  respects, 
greatly  impaired  vision,  and  not  unfrequently  blindness,  has 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE.  223 

been  occasioned  by  the  use  of  this  agent." — William  Dickin- 
son, M.  D. 

"  I  believe  that  no  one  who  smokes  tobacco  before  the 
bodily  powers  are  developed  ever  makes  a  strong,  vigorous 
man." — Dr.  Fergus  Fergusson. 

******* 

No  one  drunkard  ever  suffered  from  all  of  these  diseases 
and  many  of  them  may  occur  in  persons  who  never  use 
alcohol,  but  some  one  or  more  of  them  is  quite  certain  to 
develop  in  the  body  of  the  habitual  drinker.  Any  of  these 
diseased  conditions  is  more  often  due  to  alcohol  than  to  any 
other  single  cause. 


SELECTIONS  FROM   OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES. 

^ 

Tobacco  often  does  a  good  deal  of  harm  to  the  health — 
to  the  eyes  especially,  to  the  nervous  system  generally,  pro- 
ducing headache,  palpitation,  and  trembling. 

******* 

What  shall  I  say  for  the  personal  habits  you  must  form 
if  you  wish  for  success  ?  Temperance  is  first  upon  the 

list, 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Vices  which  burrow  into  people's  souls,  as  the  Guinea 
worm  burrows  into  the  naked  feet  of  West  Indian  slaves, 
would  be  more  mischievous  when  seen  than  out  of  sight. 
For  the  true  way  to  deal  with  those  obstinate  animals,  which 
are  a  dozen  feet  long,  some  of  them,  and  no  bigger  than  a 


224  GKADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

horse  hair,  is  to  get  a  piece  of  silk  around  their  heads,  and 
pull  them  out  very  cautiously.  If  you  only  break  them  off, 
they  grow  worse  than  ever,  ajnd  sometimes  kill  the  person 
who  has  the  misfortune  to  harbor  one  of  them.  Whence  it 
is  plain  that  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  find  out  where  the 
head  lies.  Just  so  of  all  the  vices,  and  particularly  of  this 
vice  of  intemperance. 

*  *  *  •*  •*  *  * 

There  should  be  no  need  of  dwelling  on  the  ruinous 
effects  of  over-indulgence  in  strong  drink.  The  habitual  use 
of  alcoholic  fluids  in  form  of  wine  does  not  always  prevent 
men  and  women  from  living  long,  active,  useful,  healthy, 
and  virtuous  lives.  Four  of  those  whom  I  most  honored  in 
the  last  generation  drank  wine  daily  all  the  years  I  knew 
them.  Their  age  reached  an  average  of  between  eighty-seven 
and  eighty-eight  years,  and  yet  not  one  of  them  was  of  robust 
habit,  or  promised  to  attain  any  remarkable  longevity. 

This  argument,  from  experience,  is  good  as  far  as  it  goes, 
but  may  easily  be  perverted  by  those  who  are  neglecting  all 
the  rules  of  moderation  which  these  four  persons  strictly 
observed.  A  common  mistake  is  to  confound  the  tolerance 
of  a  disturbing  agent,  which  habit  easily  establishes,  with 
the  indifference  of  the  constitution  to  it.  One  may  take  a 
drachm  or  two  of  laudanum  in  a  day,  after  practice  enough, 
without  minding  it  much,  but  not  without  its  contributing 
its  fraction  to  the  bodily  and  mental  ruin  which  the  drug 
brings  about  in  due  time.  So  one  may  form  the  habit  of 
taking  considerable  quantities  of  alcoholic  drink  every  day 
with  apparent  impunity,  yet  every  observing  eye  will  detect 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE.  225 

in  the  complexion  the  variable  states  of  the  mind  and  tem- 
per, and  by  and  by  in  the  slight  unsteadiness  which  marks 
the  slow  change  going  on  in  the  nervous  centers,  that  the 
system  has  all  along  been  suffering,  though  its  complaints 
may  have  been  too  slight  to  attract  much  attention. 

We  cannot  disguise  the  fact,  however,  that  men  drink 
because  they  like  it,  much  more  than  because  of  any  good 
which  it  does  them,  beyond  such  pleasure  as  it  may  afford; 
and  this  is  precisely  the  point  that  all  arguments  fail  to 
reach.  Pleasure  is  a  bird  in  the  hand  which  foolish  persons 
will  always  choose  before  the  two  birds  in  the  bush  which 
are  to  be  the  rewards  of  virtue.  Intoxication  offers  to  the 
weak  or  ill-managed  brain  a  strange,  pleasing  confusion,  a 
kind  of  Brahma's  heaven  where  "  naught  is  everything  and 
everything  is  naught,"  and  where  all  perplexities  at  last  re- 
solve themselves  into  the  generous  formula,  "  it's  of  no  conse- 
quence." 

*  -x-  ***** 

Tobacco  encourages  revery — the  contemplation  of  the 
possible,  which  is  a  charming  but  unwholesome  substitute 
for  the  performance  of  the  duty  next  at  hand.  If  we  divide 
our  friends  into  the  if  things  were  so  and  the  as  things  are  so 
sections,  the  nicotizers  will  probably  be  found  most  numerous 
among  the  former.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  all 
habits  of  this  kind,  like  insanity,  are  more  apt  to  fasten 
themselves  on  natures  originally  defective  and  ill-balanced 
than  on  those  in  which  the  poise  of  the  faculties  is  well 
adjusted,  and  the  self-determining  power  too  vigorous  to  be- 
come enslaved.  If  one  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  he  will 
15 


226  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

be  the  better  for  leaving  off  the  use  of  tobacco,  he  must 
expect  to  find  that  it  costs  him  a  hard  struggle.  It  is  a 
second  weaning  almost  as  trying  as  the  first,  but  a  few  days 
put  an  end  to  the  conflict. 

******* 

The  conveniences  for  the  use  of  the  bath  constitute  one 
great  advantage  that  city  life  offers  over  that  of  common 
country  houses.  Habit  makes  it  one  of  the  essentials  of  a 
comfortable  existence.  A  morning  shower-bath  is  a  cordial 
better  than  any  bitters.  A  plunge  into  the  salt  sea  brings 
back  youth  in  a  way  to  shame  Mrs.  Allen's  hair-restorer. 
But  remember  Alexander  at  the  Cydnus,  going  in  too  hot! 
Remember  Leon  Javelli,  the  great  performer  on  the  tight 
rope,  who  stayed  in  too  long!  One  of  the  finest  organisms 
ever  shown,  in  the  flower  of  physical  perfection,  was  doubled 
up  in  spasms,  arid  straightened  out  and  laid  in  the  earth 
almost  before  the  cord  has  ceased  quivering  under  his  elastic 
bounds.  It  is  a  word  and  a  blow  with  Nature  when  her  laws 

are  insulted  or  trifled  with. 

******* 

I  am  disposed  to  be  as  charitable  to  human  infirmity  in 
the  matter  of  sleep  as  I  am  in  that  of  exercise.  I  would  no 
more  accept  Sir  Edward  Coke's  limit  of  six  hours  than  I 
would  endorse  his  other  arrangements.  Eight  hours  seem 
to  me  a  fairer  average,  but  many  can  do  with  less  and  some 
may  want  more.  General  Pichegru  is  said  to  have  found 
four  enough.  Some,  like  Napoleon,  can  help  themselves  to 
sleep  whenever  they  will.  One  great  general  can  catch  a 
nap  on  the  field  while  a  battle  is  going  on.  It  is  much  more 


SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE.  227 

common  to  find  a  difficulty  in  going  to  sleep  after  getting 
to  bed.  Those  who  are  wakeful  can  do  a  great  deal  by  form- 
ing the  habit  of  dismissing  all  the  toils  and  cares  of  the  day, 
so  far  as  possible,  during  the  hour  preceding  their  bedtime. 
There  is  good  management,  as  well  as  piety,  in  closing  the 
day  with  an  act  of  devotion.  "  Happy  is  the  patient  camel, 
happy  is  the  humble  saint,'7  says  the  late  Professor  Harris; 
"  they  kneel  when  the  day  is  done,  and  their  burden  is  lifted 

from  them." 

******# 

Intoxication  suspends  the  influence  of  the  will,  and  turns 
the  subject  of  it  into  an  automaton  not  properly  responsible 
for  his  actions  excepting  when  he  drinks  to  fit  himself  for 
the  execution  of  a  criminal  purpose.  M.  Despine  gives  a 
lamentable  picture  of  the  habits  of  many  of  his  countrymen. 
The  use  of  alcohol  is  a  scourge  growing  worse  all  the  time. 
In  the  army,  according  to  General  Trochu's  report,  the  old 
soldiers  have  by  no  means  the  value  generally  attributed  to 
them,  on  account  of  the  great  prevalence  of  drinking  habits 
among  them. 


CHAPTER  XVI.      t 
PHYSICAL    EXEECISE. 

The  study  of  the  human  body,  whether  such  study  is  brief  or 
extended,  soon  convinces  one  that  neglect  is  one  of  the  greatest 
foes  to  health.  One  form  of  neglect  that  frequently  causes 
serious  and  widespread  injury  is  the  failure  to  take  exercise. 
To  be  healthy  we  must  exercise  regularly  and  judiciously.  By 
exercising  judiciously,  we  mean  that  the  right  amount  and 
proper  form  of  exercise  must  be  taken.  Want  of  strength,  in- 
complete growth,  lack  of  development,  loss  of  symmetry — all 
these  may  result  from  disregarding  our  duty  to  take  daily  exer- 
cise of  the  right  kind. 

Exercise  Necessary  to  Health — We  have  learned  that  con- 
stant use  of  a  muscle  makes  it  larger,  harder,  and  stronger. 
But  exercise  should  be  for  the  entire  body,  and  not  for  a  single 
group  of  muscles.  We  cannot  afford  to  develop  one  particular 
part  of  the  body  and  neglect  some  other  portion.  Perfect 
lungs  and  a  healthy  heart  are  of  much  greater  value  to  a  person 
than  a  few  extra  bunches  of  muscles.  Judicious  exercise  pro- 
motes health  because  it  accomplishes,  among  other  results,  the 
following : 

1.  It  stimulates  growth. 

2.  It  makes  growth  symmetrical. 

228 


PHYSICAL  EXERCISE.  229 

3.  It  develops  skill,   quickness,   accuracy,  strength,  and 
endurance. 

4.  It  incites  the  organs  to  do  their  best  work. 

5.  It  develops  poise  of  body. 

6.  It  acts  as  an  incentive  to  the  best  mental  work. 
Exercise   According  to    Development.  —  The   five-year-old 

child  should  not  attempt  the  same  forms  of  exercise  as  the  boy 
or  girl  of  twelve,  any  more  than  he  would  try  to  wear  the  same 
clothes.  Such  forms  of  exercise  are  not  adapted  to  his  stage 
of  development.  The  same  exercises  that  are  beneficial  at  cer- 
tain periods  of  growth  prove  of  no  value  at  others,  while  at  some 
stages  of  development  they  are  positively  harmful.  There  are 
four  periods  of  development  of  which  we  will  speak  with  a  view 
of  presenting  the  forms  of  exercise  best  suited  to  each  period. 

First  Period — From  Six  to  Nine  Years  of  Age Exercise 

during  this  period  should  be  such  as  will  incite  growth  by 
animating  the  organic  activities,  such  as  breathing  and  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood.  The  forms  of  exercise  must  also  be  of 
a  kind  that  will  cause  the  formation  of  more  blood.  This  is 
checked  by  the  compulsory  sitting  posture  of  the  schoolroom. 
The  exercises  of  this  period,  to  do  the  most  good,  should  be  in 
the  open  air,  and  should  be  recreative  games  and  plays,  because 
these  animate  the  nerves  and  increase  joy.  Cheer,  you  remem- 
ber, is  necessary  to  the  best  growth.  That  exercise  will,  as  a 
rule,  do  the  most  good  which  we  most  enjoy. 

The  best  exercises  during  this  period  are  the  easy  games  of 
motion,  such  as  "  Ring  Around  a  Rosy,"  "  London  Bridge  is 
Falling  Down,"  "  King,  King  Calico,"  and  some  of  the  simpler 
games  of  "Tag." 


230  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

The  exercises  tnat  should  be  forbidden  during  this  period 
are  any  and  all  of  those  that  tend  to  strain  even  a  small  number 
of  muscles/  for  they  are  likely  to  consume  matter  needed 
for  growth  and  development.  Rope  jumping  is  generally 
injurious  during  this  period,  because  of  the  condition  of  the 
heart,  especially  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  nine  years. 
Later  it  is  a  good  exercise  if  indulged  in  moderation. 

Second  Period — From  Nine  to  Fourteen. — The  exercises 
during  this  period  of  rapid  growth  must  continue  to  assist  in 
the  formation  of  blood,  as  during  the  first  period.  In  addition 
we  must  have  exercises  that  tend  to  create  an  easy  carriage  of 
the  body  and  a  graceful  walk.  Either  dancing  the  easier  waltz 
steps,  marching,  or  military  drill,  will  accomplish  much  in  this 
direction  at  this  important  stage  of  development.  Exercises 
during  the  latter  part  of  this  period  should  also  develop  skill. 
The  forms  of  exercise  especially  suited  to  this  period  are  tactics 
and  calisthenics  in  the  gymnasium,  and  in  the  open  air  the 
more  lively  games  calling  for  more  vigor  thari  those  suggested 
for  the  first  period.  Good  games  for  this  period  are  "Race- 
Tag  "  and  "  Prisoner's  Base,"  which  are  played  as  follows : 

Race-Tag. — The  leader  of  the  game  stands  on  an  elevation 
of  the  playground,  or  in  front  and  in  sight  of  the  players  who 
have  formed  parties  at  a  distance  of  from  two  to  six  paces  from 
one  another.  The  leader  swings  a  disc,  painted  white  on  the 
one  side  and  black  on  the  other.  The  parties  have  chosen  their 
colors.  The  disc  is  suddenly  held  in  such  a  way  that  either 
side,  white  or  black,  becomes  visible,  when  the  team,  whose  color 
is  seen,  must  run,  the  other  team  giving  chase  and  trying  to 
secure  as  many  prisoners  as  possible  by  holding  or  tagging 


PHYSICAL  EXERCISE.  231 

them,  before  they  can  reach  the  boundaries  of  the  playground. 
Prisoners  are  barred  from  further  participation,  and  form  in  the 
rear  of  the  disc-holder.  The  game  can  also  be  played  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  side  whose  color  is  shown  shall  quickly  drop 
prone  on  the  ground,  those  who  are  tagged  before  dropping,  or 
the  last  to  drop  to  the  ground,  being  barred  out.  In  this  last 
form  the  players  may  intermingle. 

Prisoner's  Base. — The  players  are  divided  into  two  equal 
parties,  each  having  a  goal  and  a  prison,  a  square  base  at  the 
right  end  of  the  goal  and  immediately  in  front  of  it.  The 
goals  may  be  from  30  to  75  feet  apart,  and  from  20  to  30 
feet  wide.  One  of  the  party  now  steps  forward  and  challenges 
the  opposing  party  to  catch  him  if  it  can.  If  he  should  be 
caught  or  tapped  by  any  one  of  the  opposing  party  before  he 
can  reach  his  own  goal  again,  he  is  made  prisoner  and  brought 
to  the  base  or  prison  of  the  enemy,  where  he  remains  until 
rescued  by  some  one  of  his  own  party.  This  can  be  done  by  a 
swift  and  courageous  runner  only,  who  must  tap  the  prisoner 
or  join  hands  with  him  before  he  can  be  caught,  when  he  may 
proceed  to  his  own  goal  again  unmolested.  Both  parties  con- 
tinue these  sallies  until  the  party  which  is  successful  in  cap- 
turing the  most  of  the  opposing  party,  so  that  it  is  forced  to 
surrender,  wins  the  game.  After  each  sally,  or  challenge,  the 
player  must  return  to  his  base,  before  attempting  another  sally. 

Simple  ball  games,  such  as  "One  Old  Cat,"  should  be 
played  when  the  boy  is  from  nine  to  eleven  years  old,  but 
when  he  becomes  twelve  he  should  begin  to  play  such  games 
as  shinny,  polo,  hockey,  and  the  more  intricate  game  of  baseball, 
which  will  develop  his  skill,  courage  and  judgment.  There 


232  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

should  be  exercise  in  the  gymnasium  during  the  latter  part  of 
this  period  to  cultivate  skill  on  apparatus. 

Exercises,  especially  during  this  period,  should  never  be 
continued  to  exhaustion,  but  should  stop  when  fatigue  begins  to 
manifest  itself. 

Third  Period — From  Fourteen  to  Twenty — This  is  essen- 
tially the  period  of  greatest  development,  and  is  therefore  the 
one  in  which  the  greatest  care  must  be  used  in  selecting  judi- 
cious exercises.  These  must  be,  first  of  all,  those  exercises  that 
incite  the  heart  and  lungs  to  strong  activity.  These  organs 
practically  complete  their  development  during  this  period.  The 
girl  or  boy  who  has  weak  lungs  at  the  age  of  eighteen  or  twenty, 
will  probably  be  similarly  affected  through  life.  The  games 
must  be  such  as  to  develop  skill,  daring,  and  courage.  There 
should  be  baseball  games,  and  any  other  games  that  develop 
alertness.  It  is  during  this  period  that  we  should  develop 
the  "hair-trigger,"  race-horse  kind  of  muscle,  rather  than  draft- 
horse  muscle.  Quality  rather  than  quantity  is  desired.  Quick- 
ness rather  than  bulk  should  be  the  object.  Short  races, 
running,  jumping,  swimming,  and  rowing  are  excellent  at  this 
age.  There  should,  howe.ver,  be  no  heavy  exercises  of  endur- 
ance at  this  period.  One  great  mistake  made  by  boys  at  this 
age  at  their  school  "  athletic  meets,"  is  to  imitate  the  colleges  in 
the  events  contested.  No  one  should  attempt  to  run  a  mile 
before  he  is  twenty,  nor  should  he  take  part  in  tug-of-war  con- 
tests. Such  events  call  for  too  great  endurance  for  this  age. 
The  football  games  of  high-school  boys  should  embrace  two 
halves  of  not  more  than  twenty  minutes  each — fifteen  would 
be  even  better. 


PHYSICAL  EXERCISE.  233 

Fourth  Period— From  Twenty  to  Thirty It  is  during 

this  period  that  the  individual  is  capable  of  his  highest  achieve- 
ments in  skill  and  quickness.  Easy  calisthenics  are  of  no  prac- 
tical benefit  during  this  period.  There  should  be  exercise  call- 
ing for  endurance  and  general  exercise  of  strength.  Quickness 
and  skill  in  the  use  of  one's  muscles  can  rarely  if  ever  be  de- 
veloped after  the  age  of  thirty.  The  same  is  true  with  respect 
to  gracefulness  of  bodily  movement. 

Gymnastics  and  Games  Compared. — Gymnastics  are  an  ex- 
cellent innovation  in  our  modern  schools.  They  correct  pos- 
ture, they  are  a  change  from  mental  work,  but  often  there  is 
such  a  sameness  about  such  exercises  that  one  does  not  obtain 
the  same  enjoyment  as  from  play.  Gymnastics,  like  work,  soon 
become  monotonous.  The  boy  on  the  farm  gets  plenty  of  exer- 
cise out  of  doors.  He  gets  up  early,  does  the  chores,  and  walks 
a  long  way  to  school.  He  is  laying  the  foundation  of  a  healthy 
body  in  after  life.  But  his  exercise  comes  in  the  form  of  work, 
and  "  all  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy."  Games 
accomplish  something  for  the  growing  boy  and  girl  that  work 
alone  cannot  supply.  Games  train  the  mind  as  well  as  the 
body.  They  develop  judgment,  quickness,  determination,  in  an 
easy  manner,  and  without  any  special  effort  in  this  direction, 
because  of  the  enjoyment  experienced.  In  baseball  the  boy 
develops  judgment,  skill,  daring,  and  courage.  One  cannot  learri 
to  distinguish  between  balls  and  strikes  without  exercising 
judgment.  He  must  use  skill  in  batting.  It  takes  daring  to 
try  to  steal  a  base  when  pitcher  and  catcher  are  alert,  and 
courage  is  certainly  needed  when  one  is  called  upon  to '"slide 
for  the  home  plate."  Learning  to  swim  or  skate  requires  de- 


234  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

termination  and  self-reliance.  And  so  there  are  a  number  of 
manly  qualities  that  are  furthered  and  fostered  by  health-giv- 
ing sports.  Gymnastics,  under^the  direction  of  a  teacher,  are 
excellent  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  special  defects  of  pos- 
ture in  sitting,  standing,  and  walking.  But  no  system  of  gym- 
nastics can  take  the  place  of  rollicking,  romping  play  out  of 
doors.  The  best  gymnastics  are  those  which  approach  play  as 
nearly  as  possible. 

Lack  of  exercise  during  school  work  is  much  more  common 
than  excessive  exercise,  especially  in  girls.  The  general  health 
of  girls  often  becomes  impaired,  digestion  is  enfeebled,  the  cir- 
culation is  not  good,  and  nervousness  is  manifest.  Tendency 
to  lung  diseases,  such  as  consumption,  is  greatly  increased.  The 
effect  on  bodily  figure  shows  itself  in  flabby  muscles,  droop- 
ing shoulders,  flat  chest,  stooping  walk,  and  curvature  of  the 
spine.  Girls  should  play  and  romp  with  the  same  freedom 
that  boys  do.  Health  is  as  necessary  to  a  girl  as  it  is  to  a  boy. 
But  perfect  health  is  impossible  without  good  and  sufficient 
exercise. 

Walking  is  one  of  the  most  natural  methods  of  exercise. 
It  is  convenient  and  pleasurable,  but  should  be  taken  with  a 
zest,  and  not  from  a  sense  of  compulsion.  It  is  suitable  to  all 
persons  and  all  ages.  If  properly  taken,  it  is  a  mode  of  activity 
that  calls  into  action  all  the  muscles  except  those  of  the  arms. 
It  deepens  breathing,  assists  digestion,  and  improves  circulation. 
Walk  erect  with  the  shoulders  thrown  back,  chin  out,  and  look 
the  world  in  the  face. 

Running  and  jumping  are  modifications  of  walking  and  are 
likewise  beneficial  to  those  for  whom  they  are  not  too  violent. 


PHYSICAL  EXERCISE.  235 

A  brisk  walk,  however,  is  better  than  a  slow  walk.  If  a  man 
could  move  his  legs  proportionately  as  fast  as  an  ant,  he  would 
travel  at  the  rate  of  about  800  miles  an  hour.  Bicycling  is  a 
popular  form  of  exercise.  Its  advantage  is  that  it  is  in  the 
open  air  and  exhilarating.  It  is  adapted  to  all  persons  and  all 
ages.  There  is,  however,  grave  danger  of  over-taxing  the  heart 
if  one  yields  to  the  temptation  of  long  runs  or  excessive  bursts 
of  speed.  As  in  any  other,  this  exercise  should  not  be  con- 
tinued to  the  point  of  fatigue.  The  handle-bars  should  be  high 
enough  to  allow  a  fairly  upright  position.  A  poor  saddle  will 
do  great  injury.  Tennis  is  a  fine  game,  suitable  for  girls  as  well 
as  boys.  It  will  develop  every  muscle  of  the  body.  It  is  not 
a  violent  exercise,  does  not  make  the  muscles  sore,  and  there  is 
no  danger  of  injury.  It  develops  quickness,  skill,  keenness,  and 
judgment.  Football  is  a  game  of  brains  as  well  as  brawn.  It 
develops  will,  courage,  obedience  to  orders,  and  has  good  disci- 
plinary effect.  It  tends  to  make  active,  fearless,  cool-headed 
men.  The  objections  to  this  game  arise  because  of  the  injuries 
that  occasionally  result.  These  are  comparatively  few,  and 
would  be  slight  if  the  rules  of  the  game  were  enforced.  No 
vigorous  exercise  exists  in  which  there  is  absolutely  no  risk. 
There  is  no  more  danger  in  the  game  of  football  for  a  well- 
developed  boy  than  there  is  in  climbing  trees  by  his  younger 
brother,  and  surely  no  boy  should  be  permitted  to  grow  up 
without  climbing  trees.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  said  the 
battle  of  Waterloo  was  won  on  the  football  field  at  Rugby. 
One  cannot  play  football  without  the  consciousness  that  he  has 
a  place  to  fill,  and  that  he  must  fill  it.  The  team  work,  or  con- 
certed action,  in  football  is  one  of  the  reasons  of  its  great  value. 


236  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

General  Suggestions. — Exercise  should  be  taken  regularly. 
Violent  exercise  should  not  be  indulged  in  within  a  half -hour 
before  eating  nor  within  two  hpurs  after  a  hearty  meal.  In 
preparing  for  athletic  contests,  the  increase  in  exercise  should 
come  gradually,  so  that  the  heart  and  lungs  will  not  suffer  from 
over-exertion.  Clothing  worn  while  exercising  should  be  com- 
paratively light  in  weight  and  should  be  loose-fitting  so  as  to 
admit  of  the  freest  possible  activity  of  the  muscles.  Great 
care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  taking  cold.  When  warm  from 
exercise  there  is  a  temptation  to  sit  on  the  ground  or  in  a 
cool  place.  A  cold  may  be  thus  contracted  which  may  lead 
to  fatal  lung  disease. 

Next  to  the  destroying  effects  of  strong  drink,  in  any  of 
its  forms,  upon  nerve,  brain,  and  mental  action  is  the  harm 
wrought  by  alcohol  upon  the  muscles  and  the  activity.  The 
man  who  is  employed  at  hard  labor,  using  his  muscles  to  their 
fullest  capacity  of  strength  and  endurance,  naturally  in- 
quires if  there  is  not  some  artificial  agency — a  tonic  or 
stimulant — that  will  give  his  muscles  greater  strength  and 
endurance,  and  thereby  render  them  less  likely  to  be  fatigued. 
Some  do  not  begin  their  day's  work  until  they  have  taken 
an  alcoholic  stimulant  in  some  form,  and  thus  whipped  their 
bodies  into  activity.  They  say  they  take  this  alcoholic  poison 
to  tone  up  their  muscles.  Are  they  deceived  ?  Does  alcohol 
increase  strength  as  wholesome  food  increases  strength? 
Does  it  make  their  muscles  more  accurate  in  carrying  on 
the  tasks  of  the  day  in  obeying  the  behests  of  will  ? 

Occasionally  we  hear  men  say  that  the  glass  of  liquor 
makes  them  feel  stronger.  Experiments  show  conclusively 


PHYSICAL  EXERCISE.  237 

that  such  feelings  of  increased  strength  are  deceptive.  They 
are  not  a  true  guide.  A  large  number  of  experiments  made 
with  scientific  care  show  quite  conclusively  that  alcohol,  in 
both  small  and  large  doses,  reduces  both  the  power,  accuracy, 
and  endurance  of  the  muscles.  The  man  who  makes  use  of 
such  a  stimulus — applies  the  alcoholic  whip  to  his  body — 
is  deceived,  for  instead  of  increasing  strength  it  robs  his 
body  of  muscle  power.  The  man  who  feels  stronger  after 
partaking  of  some  alcoholic  beverage  does  so  because  strong 
drink  in  any  of  its  forms  acts  as  a  narcotic  and  benumbs 
and  deadens  his  sensibility  to  fatigue.  He  feels  stronger 
because  he  is  less  able  to  feel  tired.  But  it  is  only  the 
feeling  of  fatigue  that  is  gone.  The  harm  wrought  by  ex- 
cessive fatigue  becomes  more  and  more  serious,  no  matter 
to  what  extent  the  feeling  of  weariness  is  gone.  When  the 
effect  of  the  alcoholic  drink  that  has  deadened  his  sensibility 
to  fatigue — that  has  made  him  light-hearted  and  unable  to 
feel  tired — when  this  effect  has  passed  off,  the  individual 
always  feels  even  more  exhausted. 

Strong  drink  in  any  of  its  forms  always  diminishes  the 
power  and  endurance  of  the  muscles  as  well  as  their  ability 
to  make  precise  movements.  Men  addicted  to  drink  are  not 
allowed  to  work  at  the  trades  where  quickness  and  precision 
of  movement  are  essential.  All  are  aware  of  the  fact  that 
soldiers  and  athletes  are  not  allowed  to  use  liquor  during 
periods  of  prolonged  exertion  or  when  undergoing  special 
training  that  is  to  render  them  "  fit  as  a  fiddle." 

Again,  to  grow  fleshy  is  not  to  grow  strong.  Alcohol 
not  only  tends  to  serious  and  lasting  injury  of  the  power  and 


238  GEADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

endurance  of  the  muscles,  but  injures  the  very  structure  of 
the  muscles  themselves.  It  makes  them  weak,  pale,  and 
flabby.  It  prevents  the  will, ^  from  having  perfect  control 
of  the  muscles,  and  thereby  impairs  their  precision  of  action. 

"  Fatty  degeneration  "  is  the  name  given  to  the  change 
in  muscle  structure  caused  by  alcohol.  Thia.change  in  tissue 
is  caused  by  particles  of  fat  being  deposited  around  the  mus- 
cle structure  and  between  the  finest  muscle  fibers.  In  course 
of  time  so  much  fat  may  be  deposited  as  to  really  take  the 
place  of  the  strands  of  muscle.  The  muscle  tissue  dies.  The 
fat  remains.  People  who  become  fleshy  as  the  result  of  alco- 
holic beverages  are,  as  a  rule,  neither  so  strong  nor  so  healthy 
as  those  who  have  more  sinewy,  hard  muscle  and  less  fat. 
Beer  makes  some  persons  fleshy.  This  is  nothing  in  its 
favor.  It  never  increases  muscle  strength. 

"  If  we  examine  with  a  microscope  a  fine  section  of 
muscle  taken  from  a  person  in  good  health,  we  find  it  firm, 
elastic,  and  of  good  bright  red  color,  made  up  of  parallel 
fibers  with  beautiful  crossings;  but  if  we  similarly  examine 
the  muscle  tissue  of  a  man  who  leads  an  idle,  sedentary 
life,  and  indulges  in  alcoholic  drinks,  we  detect  at  once  a 
pale,  flabby,  inelastic,  oily  appearance." — Dr.  Henry  Monroe. 

In  the  habitual  drinker,  who  is  apparently  so  robust, 
there  is  instead  of  elastic  muscles  strong  as  cords  of  steel 
a  lot  of  inert  fat  utterly  devoid  of  strength.  It  is  the 
part  of  wisdom  to  avoid  all  alcoholic  liquors,  for  they  in- 
terfere not  only  with  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
muscles,  but  also  diminish  their  power,  endurance,  and 
precision. 


PHYSICAL  EXERCISE.  239 

"  The  usefulness,  if  not  the  harmfulness,  of  even  mod- 
erate doses  of  alcohol  rests  on  better  evidence  than  scientific 
deduction  and  experiments.  In  connection  with  the  sanita- 
tion of  armies,  thousands  of  experiments  upon  large  bodies 
of  men  have  been  made,  and  have  led  to  the  result  that  in 
peace  and  war,  in  every  climate,  in  heat,  cold,  and  rain,  sol- 
diers are  better  able  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  the  most  ex- 
hausting marches  when  they  are  not  allowed  any  alcohol.  A 
similar  result  is  observed  in  the  case  of  the  navies  and  on 
thousands  of  commercial  vessels  belonging  to  England  and 
America,  which  put  to  sea  without  a  drop  of  alcohol.  Most 
whalers  are  manned  by  total  abstainers." — Bunge. 

"  To-day  it  is  a  great  feather  in  the  headgear  of  the 
advocates  of  military  total  abstinence  that  Lord  Kitchener's 
recent  victory  was  won  for  him  by  an  army  of  teetotalers, 
who  made  phenomenal  forced  marches  through  the  desert, 
under  a  burning  sun,  and  in  a  climate  famed  for  its  power 
to  kill  or  prematurely  age  the  unacclimated.  Indeed,  it  is 
said  that  never  has  there  been  a  British  campaign  occasion- 
ing so  little  sickness  and  profiting  by  so  much  endurance." 
— Washington  Star. 

"  The  influence  of  alcohol  upon  muscular  work  has  been 
established  permanently.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  man 
works  better  when  he  does  not  use  these  pretended  stimu- 
lants. The  physiological  experiments  of  Destree  have  estab- 
lished that  alcohol  is  a  paralyzer  of  muscular  work.  It  ex- 
cites at  first,  but  this  excitation  is  altogether  transient,  and 
is  followed  immediately  by  depression." — Dr.  DeVaucleroy, 
Professor  Hygiene,  Belgium  Military  Institute. 


240  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

"  In  a  number  of  experiments  carried  out  with  the  idea  of 
ascertaining  the  effect  of  alcohol  upon  muscular  force,  it  was 
found  that  in  every  ease  where  alcohol  was  taken,  muscular 
force  was  diminished,  even  when  so  small  an  amount  as 
one-half  dram  (one-half  a  teaspoonful)  of  alcohol  was  used. 
In  these  experiments  it  was  found  that  non-abstainers  were 
affected  as  well  as  abstainers.  The  deceptive  nature  of  alco- 
hol was  manifested  in  every  case,  each  individual  feeling 
sure  that  he  could  accomplish  more  than  he  could  before 
taking  the  alcohol." — Dr.  Charles  Stewart. 

Tobacco  also  destroys  muscular  tone  and  precision.  For 
this  reason  its  use  is  always  prohibited  among  athletes  in 
training  for  contests  on  the  track,  gridiron,  diamond,  and  all 
aquatic  sports  where  power  and  endurance  of  muscle  are  so 
vital.  In  these  contests  it  is  the  team  or  crew  made  up  of 
individuals  possessing  the  strongest  muscles,  with  greatest 
endurance  and  most  perfect  control  that  is  most  certain  to 
win.  Training-tables  are  established  that  the  athletes  may 
eat  only  the  most  wholesome  foods,  and  to  increase  the  mus- 
cular efficiency  of  the  men  as  well  as  to  avoid  direct  harm 
the  use  of  tobacco  is  absolutely  prohibited.  Rich  foods  make 
fat  and  unmake  muscle.  The  individual  cannot  attain  the 
highest  degree  of  efficiency  in  athletic  training  and  partake 
of  such  foods.  Likewise  tobacco  is  a  bar  to  the  attainment 
of  athletic  perfection,  and  for  this  reason  the  prohibition 
of  its  use  by  candidates  for  the  various  teams  is  rigidly  en- 
forced. 

A  noted  marksman,  the  most  celebrated  wing-shot  of  his 
day,  lost  his  wonderful  skill  through  the  use  of  tobacco.  It 


PHYSICAL  EXERCISE.  241 

interfered  with  the  steadiness  of  his  muscles,  made  them 
untrustworthy,  and  he  lost  the  championship,  according  to 
his  own  account,  because  of  his  giving  himself  into  the  power 
of  the  tobacco  habit. 

Those  who  desire  to  excel  in  pursuits  that  require  deli- 
cacy of  touch,  precision  of  movement  and  perfect  control 
cannot  afford  to  use  tobacco  in  any  form,  for  it  is  certain 
to  unfit  them  for  the  satisfactory  performance  of  their  work. 


QUOTATIONS. 

"  We  have  not  to  train  a  soul  alone,  nor  only  a  body,  but 
a  man;  and  we  cannot  divide  him." — Montaigne. 

"  A  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body  is  a  short  but  full  de- 
scription of  a  happy  state  in  this  world;  he  that  has  these 
two  has  but  little  more  to  wish  for,  and  he  that  lacks  either 
of  them  will  be  but  little  better  for  anything  else  he  may 
possess." — John  Locke. 

"  The  truth  is  that  happiness  is  the  most  powerful  of 
tonics.  By  accelerating  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  it  facili- 
tates the  performance  of  every  function,  and  so  tends  alike  to 
increase  health  when  it  exists,  and  to  restore  it  when  it  has 
been  lost.  The  extreme  interest  felt  by  children  in  their 
games,  and  the  riotous  glee  with  which  they  carry  on  their 
rougher  frolics,  are  of  as  much  importance  as  the  accompany- 
ing exertion." — Herbert  Spencer. 


16 


CHAPTER  XVII.     K 
FIEST  AID  TO  THE  INJUBED. 

Very  often  a  little  knowledge  of  what  is  best  to  be  done  in 
case  of  accident  may  save  life.  Accidents  will  happen  in 
the  best  regulated  schools,  and  it  is  important  for  us  all  to  know 
what  is  the  wisest  course  to  pursue  until  the  doctor  comes. 
The  following  accidents  are  most  common : 

Fainting. — When  this  occurs  it  is  usually  because  the  room 
is  overheated  or  poorly  ventilated.  Place  the  patient  on  his 
back  with  his  head  low,  no  pillows  of  any  kind  being  used. 
Loosen  all  the  clothing  about  the  neck.  Place  the  patient  in  a 
current  of  air,  or  quickly  carry  him  outside  if  possible.  Keep 
the  crowd  back  by  all  means.  Sprinkle  a  little  cold  water  on 
the  face.  Never  pour  anything  down  the  throat  of  an  uncon- 
scious patient,  for  it  may  cause  him  to  choke  to  death. 

Suffocation. — Sometimes  a  peachstone,  tin  whistle,  marble, 
or  similar  object,  is  thoughtlessly  held  in  the  mouth.  It  may 
then  slip  back  into  the  larynx,  obstructing  breathing.  Call  a 
doctor  immediately,  for  such  an  accident  is  always  serious.  In 
the  mean  time  try  to  reach,  the  foreign  object  by  placing  your 
finger  in  the  back  of  the  patient's  throat.  Even  if  the  object 
cannot  be  reached,  vomiting  is  thus  caused,  and  this  may 
dislodge  it. 

242 


FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED. 


243 


Bleeding  from  the  Nose. — This  is  quite  a  common  occur- 
rence among  children,  and,  as  a  rule,  is  not  alarming.  Place 
the  patient  erect  in  a  chair,  or  have  him  stand,  and  induce  him 
to  stretch  both  arms  high  above  the  head.  Press  the  tip  of 
the  nose  between  the  finger  and  thumb,  or  press  the  upper  lip. 
Put  a  piece  of  ice  or  a  cold  cloth  at 
the  back  of  the  neck.  This  cold 
shock  will  cause  the  blood  vessels 
to  shrink.  Loosen  the  collar  so  as 
to  allow  free  circulation.  Also 
apply  cold  water  to  the  nose  and 
forehead.  If  these  measures  do 
not  stop  the  hemorrhage,  inject  cold 
water  containing  a  little  salt  or  soda 
into  the  nose.  During  an  attack,  do 
not  blow  the  nose,  as  this  will  start 
further  bleeding. 

Bleeding  from  an  Artery — If 
the  blood  comes  in  jets  or  spurts,  it 
is  an  artery  that  is  bleeding.  This 
may  prove  serious.  Fortunately,  at  Bleeding. 

most  parts  of  the  body  the  arteries  are  deeply  buried  in  the 
flesh.  A  severed  artery  calls  for  prompt  action.  Put  firm 
pressure  upon  the  bleeding  part  between  the  wound  and  the 
heart.  The  pressure  is  best  applied,  in  case  the  wound  is  in 
the  arm  or  leg,  by  taking  a  folded  handkerchief,  tying  a 
knot  in  its  center,  and  placing  this  knot  over  the  artery.  Tie 
it  loosely  around  the  limb,  but  with  a  good  knot.  Place  a  stick 


FIGURE  71. — Bandage   in  Arterial 


244  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

under  the  bandage  and  twist  it  round  and  round  until  tight 

enough  to  stop  the  hemorrhage.      (Fig.  71.) 

Bleeding  from  the  Veins. .^The  patient  should  lie  quiet. 

Raise  the  bleeding  member,  and  wash  the  wound  with  cold  or  hot, 

but  clean,  water.  Dirty  water  may  introduce  bacteria  into  the 
wound.  Then  tie  a  pad  of  soft  clean  linen 
so  as  to  press  firmly  upon  the  injury. 

Foreign  Bodies  in  the  Ear  or  Nostril. — 
A  thoughtless  child  will  sometimes  push  an 
object  into  the  nostril  or  ear  until  it  is  be- 
yond reach.  If  it  is  a  pea,  bean,  or  grain 
of  corn,  the  heat  and  moisture  will  cause  it 

FIGUKE  72. -Removing  a  to  swell.     It  is  best]  to  go  to  the  physician 

fhTle PartiCle  fr°m  at  once  and  have  the  obJect  removed.     If  the 
obstruction  is  in  one  of  the  nostrils,  hold 
the  other  nostril  shut  and  blow  in  the  patient's  mouth.     The 
air  will  force  out  the  object. 

Foreign  Bodies  in  the  Eye. — Cinders  and  dust  particles 
get  into  the  eye  in  spite  of  its  excellent  protection.  This 
causes  severe  pain.  Rubbing  the  eye  will  make  matters  worse. 
Open  the  eye,  and  perhaps  tears  will  wash  out  the  offending 
particle.  Or  draw  the  upper  lid  down  over  the  under  one; 
the  lashes  of  the  under  lid  may  remove  the  cause  of  irrita- 
tion. A  still  better  method  is  to  place  a  match  or  wooden 
toothpick  on  top  of  the  eyelid,  then  catch  hold  of  the  lashes 
and  turn  the  lid  back.  (Fig.  72.)  The  particle  will  in  all 
probability  be  seen  clinging  to  the  under  surface  of  the  lid 
and  can  be  easily  removed  with  the  corner  of  a  handker- 
chief. 


FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED.  245 

Burns. — The  best  application  for  a  burn  is  a  solution  of 
common  cooking  soda,  using  about  a  tablespoonful  of  soda  to  a 
glass  of  water.  Afterwards  apply  vaseline.  A  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  linseed  oil  and  lime  water  is  excellent  for  dressing  burns. 
Apply  loosely  with  cotton. 

Bee  Stings. — The  stings  of  bees,  wasps,  hornets,  and  yellow- 
jackets  are  relieved  by  first  bathing  in  hot  water  and  squeezing 
out  the  poison.  Then  apply  the  solution  of  soda  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  paragraph.  This  same  treatment  will  also  relieve 
in  the  case  of  nettle  stings.  Ammonia  is  also  excellent  in  these 
injuries,  and  in  mosquito  bites.  Boys  also  know  that  binding 
mud  over  a  sting  gives  relief.  Be  careful  to  always  extract 
the  "stinger"  before  treatment  is  applied. 

Burning  Clothing. — Quick  work  is  necessary  when  a  per- 
son's clothes  catch  fire,  for  in  a  very  few  minutes  he  will  be 
enveloped  in  flames  and  so  severely  burnt  that  recovery  will  be 
impossible.  Place  such  a  person  flat  on  the  ground  immediately; 
smother  the  flames  with  a  coat,  shawl,  blanket,  piece  of  carpet, 
or  anything  at  hand.  If  on  fire  yourself,  do  not  run  for  help, 
but  He  down  flat,  and  roll  over  and  over  on  the  ground  or  floor 
to  smother  out  the  flames. 

Sunstroke. — When  overcome  by  the  heat,  or  suffering  from 
a  sunstroke,  lie  down  in  a  cool,  shady  place.  The  face  and  hands 
should  be  sponged  with  cold  water.  As  soon  as  possible  the 
patient  should  be  removed  to  a  cool  room,  and  placed  on  a 
couch  with  his  head  elevated.  Apply  cold  cloths,  or  better 
still,  the  ice-bag,  to  the  head,  back  of  the  neck,  and  spine,  and 
warmth  to  the  legs  and  feet.  A  drink  of  hot  coffee  or  tea,  or 
beef  extract,  will  stimulate  the  weakened  heart. 


24:6  GEADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

Broken  Bones. — There  is  no  urgent  need  for  treating  a 
broken  limb  before  the  surgeon  arrives.  If  it  is  necessary  to 
move  the  patient,  he  should  b»  carried  on  a  board,  door,  or  an 
equally  solid  improvised  stretcher,  rather  than  loosely  in  the 
arms,  so  as  to  prevent  the  broken  limb  from  being  moved  before 
the  doctor  comes. 

Frost  Bite — Immediately  rub  the  frozen  parts  with  snow, 
or  apply  very  cold  water.  When  they  begin  to  sting  and 
burn,  cease  the  rubbing.  Ordinary  coal  oil  is  also  an  excellent 
application  for  frost  bite.  Treatment  should  always  take  place 
in  a  cold  room  before  the  frozen  parts  have  become  warm.  The 
patient  should  then  become  warm  gradually. 

Learn  to  Swim — Every  child  should  be  taught  to  swim 
and  to  float.  Besides  being  an  excellent  exercise  in  and  of 
itself,  swimming  is  an  accomplishment  that  may  be  of  service 
in  saving  the  lives  of  others.  A  cool-headed,  expert  swimmer 
may  save  a  boat-load  of  people. 

Treatment  of  the  Drowned — [As  given  in  Bulletin  14, 
Michigan  Board  of  Health.]  Three  things  to  be  done :  Eestore 
breathing;  restore  animal  heat;  restore  the  circulation  of  the 
blood. 

EULE  1. — Remove  all  obstructions  to  'breathing.  INSTANTLY 
loosen  or  cut  apart  all  neck  or  waist  bands;  turn  the  patient 
on  his  face,  with  the  head  down  hill ;  stand  astride  the  hips 
with  your  face  towards  his  head,  and  locking  your  fingers 
together  under  his  body,  raise  it  as  high  as  you  can  without 
lifting  the  forehead  off  the  ground  (Fig.  73),  and  give  the  body 
a  quick  jerk  to  remove  mucus  from  the  throat  and  water  from 
the  windpipe;  hold  the  body  suspended  long  enough  to  slowly 


FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED. 


247 


count  ONE,  TWO,  THREE,  FOUR,  FIVE,  repeating  the  jerk  more 
gently  two  or  three  times.     Then  act  by  Rule  2. 

RULE  2. — Keep  the  patient  face  downward,  and  maintaining 
all  the  while  your  position  astride  the  body,  grasp  the  points 
of  the  shoulders  by  the  clothing,  or,  if  the  body  is  naked, 
thrust  your  fingers  into  the  armpits,  clasping  your  thumbs  over 


FIGURE  73.— Resuscitation  from  Drowning.    (Position  1.) 

the  points  of  the  shoulders,  and  raise  the  chest  as  high  as  you 
can  (Fig.  74)  without  lifting  the  head  quite  off  the  ground,  and 
hold  it  long  enough  to  slowly  count  ONE,  TWO,  THREE.  Replace 
him  on  the  ground,  with  his  forehead  on  his  flexed  arm,  the 
neck  straightened  out,  and  the  mouth  and  nose  free.  Place 
your  elbows  against  your  knees,  and  your  hands  upon  the  sides 
of  his  chest  (Fig.  75)  over  the  lower  ribs,  and  press  downward 
and  inward  with  increasing  force  long  enough  to  slowly  count 
ONE,  TWO.  Suddenly  let  go,  grasp  the  shoulders  as  before,  and 
raise  the  chest  (Fig.  74);  then  press  upon  the  ribs  (Fig,  75). 


248 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 


These  alternate  movements  should  be  repeated  ten  to  fifteen 
times  a  minute  for  an  hour  at  least,  unless  breathing  is  restored 
sooner.  Use  the  same  regularity  as  in  natural  breathing. 

Do  NOT  GIVE  UP  TOO  SOON.— You  are  working  for  life.    Any 


FIGURE  74.— Resuscitation  from  Drowning.    (Position  2.) 


time  within  two  hours  you  may  be  on  the  very  threshold  of 
success  without  there  being  any  sign  of  it. 

RULE  3. — After  breathing  has  commenced,  KESTORE  THE 
ANIMAL  HEAT.  Wrap  him  in  warm  blankets,  apply  bottles  of 
hot  water,  hot  bricks,  or  anything  to  restore  heat.  Warm  the 
head  nearly  as  fast  as  the  body,  lest  convulsions  come  on.  Rub- 
bing the  body  with  warm  cloths  or  the  hand,  and  slapping  the 
fleshy  parts  may  assist  to  restore  warmth,  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  and  the  breathing  also.  The  rubbing  of  the  limbs  should 
always  be  from  the  extremities  toward  the  body.  If  the  patient 


FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED. 


249 


can  SURELY  swallow,  give  hot  coffee,  tea,  or  milk.  Place  the 
patient  in  a  warm  bed,  and  give  him  plenty  of  fresh  air;  keep 
him  quiet. 

Beware!— Avoid  Delay — A  MOMENT  may  turn  the  scale 
for  life  and  death.  Dry  ground,  shelter,  warmth,  or  stimu- 
lants, at  this  moment  are  nothing — ARTIFICIAL  BREATHING  is 
EVERYTHING — is  the  ONE  REMEDY — all  others  are  secondary. 


FIGURE  75.— Resuscitation  from  Drowning.    (Position  3.) 

Do  not  stop  to  remove  wet  clothing.  Precious  time  is  wasted 
and  the  patient  may  be  fatally  chilled  by  exposure  of  the  naked 
body,  even  in  summer.  Give  all  your  attention  and  effort  to 
restore  breathing  by  forcing  air  into  and  out  of  the  lungs.  If 
the  breathing  has  just  ceased,  a  smart  slap  on  the  face,  or  a 
vigorous  twist  of  the  hair  will  sometimes  start  it  again,  and 
may  be  tried  incidentally,  as  may  also  pressing  the  finger  upon 
the  root  of  the  tongue. 

Before  natural  breathing  is  fully  restored,  do  not  let  the 
patient  lie  on  his  back  unless  some  person  holds  the  tongue 
forward.  The  tongue  by  falling  back  may  close  the  windpipe, 
and  cause  fatal  choking. 


250  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

If  several  persons  are  present,  one  may  hold  the  head 
steady,  keeping  the  neck  nearly  straight ;  others  may  remove 
wet  clothing,  substituting  at  oiice  clothing  which  is  dry  and 
warm;  they  may  also  chafe  the  limbs,  rubbing  toward  the 
body,  and  thus  promote  the  circulation. 

Prevent  persons  from  crowding  around'  the  patient  and 
excluding  fresh  air;  also  from  trying  to  give  stimulants  before 
the  patient  can  swallow.  The  first  causes  suffocation;  the 
second,  fatal  choking. 

Poisons. — A  few  of  the  common  drugs  kept  about  the 
house  are  more  or  less  poisonous.  The  proper  antidote  for 
each  poison  kept  in  the  house  should  be  known.  It  is  a  good 
rule  to  procure,  at  the  time  any  poison  is  purchased,  the  best 
antidote  for  that  poison.  When  a  person  has  taken  poison^ 
three  things  are  to  be  accomplished;  (1)  to  get  rid  of  the 
poison;  (2)  to  neutralize  what  remains  in  the  system;  (3)  to 
remedy  the  effect  already  produced. 

Whenever  it  is  suspected  that  a  poison  has  been  swallowed, 
an  emetic  should  be  given.  The  most  common  emetic  is  mus- 
tard; mix  a  tablespoonful  with  a  cup  of  warm  water;  give  half 
of  this  mixture,  and  in  a  few  moments  give  the  remainder. 
Compel  the  patient  to  drink  large  quantities  of  warm  water. 
Provoke  vomiting  by  putting  the  finger  or  a  teaspoon  at  the 
back  of  the  throat.  If  mustard  is  not  at  hand,  use  a  strong 
solution* of  common  salt  or  alum.  After  the  vomiting  it  is 
well  to  give  a  glass  of  milk,  in  which  are  the  well-beaten  whites 
of  two  eggs.  It  must  be  remembered  that  these  suggestions 
are  given  as  directions  until  the  doctor  arrives.  A  physician 
should  always  be  summoned  because  of  the  necessary  after- 
treatment. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

SELECTED   READINGS   FOE   REVIEW    STUDY. 

The  study  of  literature  in  the  school  grades  is  a  distinctive  feature 
marking  the  advance  and  improvement  of  the  last  ten  years.  One 
result  of  this  reading  and  study  of  good  literature  is  that  every  school 
child  knows  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  as  a  famous  American  poet,  es- 
sayist, and  novelist.  But  because  of  his  literary  glory  his  achievements 
in  physiology  and  medicine  are  quite  generally  forgotten.  For  thirty- 
five  years  he  was  actively  engaged  as  a  teacher  of  anatomy  and  physi- 
ology in  the  Medical  School  of  Harvard  University.  The  following 
selections  were  made  for  you  to  read  and  study,  not  merely  for  their 
literary  excellence,  but  more  particularly  for  the  aid  they  will  give  you 
in  reviewing  the  general  subjects  of  physiology  and  hygiene.  You 
should  carefully  read  each  of  these  selections  as  a  whole,  and  then 
study  each  paragraph  with  special  reference  to  its  teachings  of  anatomy, 
physiology  and  hygiene.  The  stanzas  at  the  close  are  taken  from  his 
poem  "  The  Living  Temple,"  sometimes  referred  to  by  the  author  as 
"  The  Anatomist's  Hymn." 

The  body  may  be  studied  as  the  geographer  studies  the 
earth,  or  as  the  geologist  studies  it.  A  surgeon  who  is  to 
operate  upon  any  part  must  make  a  very  careful  study  of  its 
geography.  A  very  slight  deviation  of  his  knife  may  be  the 
death  of  his  patient. 

But  the  geology  of  the  body,  the  list  of  anatomical  elements  into 
which  the  microscope  easily  resolves  it,  is  quite  another  matter. 

A  slight  prick  of  the  finger  with  a  cambric  needle  supplies 
a  point,  not  a  drop,  of  blood,  which  we  spread  on  a  slip  of  glass, 

251 


252  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

cover  with  another  much  thinner  piece  of  glass,  and  look  at  in 
the  microscope.  You  see  a  vast  number  of  flattened  disks 
rolling  around  in  a  clear  fluid,  o,r  piled  in  columns  like  rouleaux 
of  coin.  Each  of  these  is  about  one-fiftieth  of  the  diameter  of 
the  dot  over  this  i,  or  the  period  at  the  end  of  this  sentence,  as 
it  will  be  seen  in  fine  print.  You  have  many  millions  of  them 
circulating  in  your  body, — I  am  almost  afraid  to  say  how  many 
by  calculation.  Here  and  there  is  a  pearly  looking  globule,  a 
little  larger  than  one  of  the  disks.  These  are  the  red  and  the 
white  blood  corpuscles,  which  are  carried  along  by  the  pale 
fluid  to  which  the  red  ones  give  its  color,  as  the  grains  of  sand 
are  whirled  along  with  a  rapid  torrent.  The  blood,  then,  you 
see,  is  not  like  red  ink,  but  more  like  water  with  red  and 
white  currants,  one  of  the  latter  to  some  hundreds  of  the  for- 
mer, floating  in  it,  not  dissolved  in  it. 

The  solids  of  the  body  are  made  up  chiefly  of  cells  or  par- 
ticles originally  rounded,  often  more  or  less  altered  in  form,  or 
of  fibers.  Here  is  a  minute  scrap  of  fat,  half  as  large  as  the 
head  of  a  pin,  perhaps.  You  see  in  the  microscope  that  it  con- 
sists of  a  group  of  little  vescicles,  or  cells,  looking  like  minia- 
ture soap-bubbles.  That  part  of  the  brain  with  which  we 
think  is  made  up  of  cells  of  a  different  aspect.  They  are 
granular  instead  of  being  clear  like  the  fat  cells.  Each  of 
them  has  a  little  spot  upon  it  called  the  nucleus,  and  that  has 
a  smaller  spot  called  the  nucleolus. 

Now  let  us  examine  some  fibers.  These  fine,  wavy  threads 
are  the  material  employed  by  nature  for  a  larger  variety  of 
purposes  than  any  other  anatomical  element.  They  look  like 
silk  floss  as  you  see  them  here.  But  they  take  many  aspects. 


SELECTED  READINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY.      253 

Made  into  bands  and  cords  they  tie  the  joints  as  ligaments, 
and  form  the  attachments  of  muscles  as  tendons.  Woven  into 
dense  membranes  they  wrap  the  limbs  in  firm  envelopes, 
sheathing  each  separate  muscle,  and  binding  the  whole  muscles 
of  a  part  in  a  common  covering.  Shaped  into  stout  bags  they 
furnish  protections  for  the  brain,  the  heart,  the  eye,  and  other 
organs.  In  looser  masses  they  form  the  packing  of  all  the 
delicate  machinery  of  life,  separating  the  parts  from  each  other, 
and  yet  uniting  them  as  a  whole,  much  as  the  cement  at  once 
separates  and  unites  the  stones  or  bricks  of  a  wall,  or  more 
nearly  as  the  cotton-wool  packs  the  fragile  articles  it  is  used  to 
protect. 

The  muscles  are  the  servants  of  the  brain.  To  each  bundle 
of  them  runs  a  nervous  telegraphic  cord,  which  compels  it  to 
every  act  good  or  bad  which  it  does,  to  every  word  right  or 
wrong  which  it  utters.  Your  muscles  will  murder  as  readily  as 
they  will  embrace  a  fellow-creature.  They  will  curse  as  will- 
ingly as  they  will  bless,  if  your  brain  telegraphs  them  to  do  it. 
Your  red  flesh  has  no  more  conscience  or  compassion  than  a 
tiger's  or  a  hyena's. 

We  look  at  a  bit  of  nerve  in  the  microscope.  It  seems  at 
first  as  if  it  were  simply  fibrous,  but  examining  it  we  see  that 
each  fiber  is  a  tube,  with  thick  walls  and  a  kind  of  pith  in  its 
center — looking  something  like  a  thermometer-tube  with  trans- 
parent contents.  Through  these  canals  flows  in  the  knowledge 
of  all  that  is  outside  ourselves,  nay,  of  our  own  bodies,  to  our 
consciousness,  which  has  its  seat  in  those  granular  spotted  cells 
of  the  brain  before  mentioned.  Through  these  stream  forth 
also  from  the  brain-cells  the  mandates  of  the  will. 


254  GEADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

The  bones  are  more  than  half  mineral  substance,  h'me  being 
their  basis.  Our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  is  built  upon 
a  rock.  The  teeth  are  still  more  largely  mineral  in  their  com- 
position, yet  both  bones  and  teeth  are  penetrated  by  canals 
which  carry  nourishment  through  their  substance. 

We  cannot  use  our  bodies  in  any  manner,  without  wearing 
away  some  portions  of  them,  or  so  far  deteriorating  those  por- 
tions that  they  become  unfit  for  their  duties.  These  must 
therefore  be  got  rid  of  and  their  place  supplied  with  fresh  mate- 
rials. It  is  obvious,  then,  that  we  change  our  bodies  as  we 
change  our  clothes.  A  strong  man  leading  an  active  life  takes 
between  two  and  three  pounds  of  dry  food  daily,  and  five  or  six 
of  liquids.  He  receives  into  his  lungs  between  four  and  five 
thousand  gallons  of  air  every  twenty-four  hours,  of  which  he 
absorbs  between  two  and  three  pounds.  In  a  year,  therefore, 
such  a  man  takes  into  his  system  about  three  thousand  pounds 
of  foreign  material,  or  twenty  times  his  own  weight.  That  is, 
if  he  weighs  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  he  has  been  made 
over  twenty  times  in  the  course  of  a  year,  or  as  often  as  once 
every  two  or  three  weeks. 

We  are  perishing  and  being  born  again  at  every  instant. 
"I  die  daily"  is  true  of  all  that  live.  If  we  cease  to  die,  parti- 
cle by  particle,  and  to  be  born  anew  in  the  same  proportion,  the 
whole  movement  of  life  comes  to  an  end;  and  swift,  universal, 
irreparable  decay  resolves  our  frames  into  the  parent  elements. 

The  products  of  the  internal  fire  which  consumes  us  over  and 
over  again  every  year  pass  off  mainly  in  smoke  and  steam  from 
the  lungs  and  the  skin.  The  smoke  is  invisible  only  because 
the  combustion  is  so  perfect.  The  steam  is  plain  enough  in  our 


SELECTED  READINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY.      255 

breaths  on  a  frosty  morning ;  and  an  over-driven  horse  will  show 
us  on  a  larger  scale  the  cloud  that  is  always  arising  from  our 
own  bodies. 

A  plant  must  find  in  the  soil  any  elements  it  requires,  and 
which  the  air  does  not  furnish.  We  feed  our  cereals  with 
phosphate  of  lime,  for  instance,  and  we  know  that  unless  we 
keep  replenishing  the  soil  it  is  soon  exhausted  of  this  and 
other  important  constituents.  So  if  a  hen  does  not  get  lime 
enough  in  her  food,  she  lays  soft  or  thin  shelled  eggs.  And 
just  as  certainly  as  a  man  does  not  get  lime  enough  in  his  food 
his  bones  will  be  liable  to  soften  and  bend  under  him. 

These  little  striped  fibers,  which  do  the  bidding  of  your 
will,  must  be  exercised  or  they  will  undergo  a  gradual  change, 
diminishing  in  size  or  in  number,  or  perhaps  being  converted 
into  fat,  a,nd  thus  substituting  a  burden  for  a  force. 

CONDITIONS  OF  HEALTH. 

Methods  of  Heating. — Open  fire-places,  wood  or  soft  coal, 
aided,  if  need  be,  by  moderate  furnace  heat  in  the  coldest 
weather,  are  the  first  requisites  for  health,  comfort,  and  cheer- 
fulness. Even  heating  by  steam  or  hot  water  is  no  substitute 
for  the  blaze  of  the  open  fire-place  and  the  brisk  circulation  of 
air  kept  up  by  the  breathing  passage  of  a  room — its  chimney. 

Sunlight. — Warmth,  however,  and  an  atmosphere  contain- 
ing a  due  amount  of  moisture,  are  not  enough  to  secure  health 
without  insuring  the  daily  presence  of  a  sufficient  amount  of 
light.  The  dark  side  of  a  street  is  far  more  subject  to  disease 
than  the  light  side.  Sir  James  Wylie  found  three  times  as 


256  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

many  cases  of  disease  on  the  shaded  side  of  the  barracks  at  St. 
Petersburg  as  on  the  other  side. 

Ventilation. — The  air  we  breathe  is  the  next  point  to  be 
touched  upon.  If  we  inspire  and  expire  forty  hogsheads  of  air 
a  day,  rob  it  of  some  pounds  of  oxygen,  and  load  it  with  other 
pounds  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  we  must  need  a^very  large  supply 
for  our  daily  use.  The  ventilation  of  buildings,  public  and 
private,  is  accomplished  easily  and  safely  enough  if  people  will 
take  the  pains  and  spend  the  money.  Yet  it  is  sadly  neglected 
by  those  who  spare  no  trouble  and  expense  for  luxuries  much 
less  important. 

Air  and  Water  are,  of  course,  the  principal  substances  on 
which  we  feed.  From  these  we  get  our  supplies  of  oxygen 
and  hydrogen.  Why  not  of  nitrogen,  as  four-fifths  of  the  air 
consist  of  that  gas  ?  Thirty  hogsheads  of  nitrogen  pass  in  and 
out  of  our  lungs  daily,  and  yet  it  can  hardly  be  shown  that  we 
take  toll  of  it  to  the  amount  of  a  cubic  inch.  We  are  all  our 
lives  soaking  in  a  great  serial  ocean  made  up  chiefly  of  nitrogen, 
and  we  shall  die  of  nitrogen  famine  if  we  do  not  have  a  portion 
of  it  supplied  to  us  in  our  solid  or  our  liquid  food. 

"  Water,  water  everywhere, 
And  not  a  drop  to  drink." 

Nitrogen  from  Foods — We  get  our  nitrogen  from  the  cereals 
that  furnish  our  bread,  from  peas  and  beans,  from  milk,  cheese, 
and  from  animal  food,  except  its  fatty  portions.  We  cannot 
take  carbon,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  lime,  chlorine,  iron,  potash, 
soda,  in  their  simple  forms;  but  they  are  contained  in  the 
plants  and  in  the  flesh  that  form  our  common  diet,  or  in  the 


SELECTED  READINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY.      257 

water  we  drink,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  salt,  supplied  as  condiments. 
The  body  is  a  soil  capable  of  being  improved  by  adding  the 
elements  in  which  it  is  deficient  as  much  as  farming  or  garden 
land.  The  cook  makes  our  bodies,  the  apothecary  only  cobbles 
them. 

Alcohol  and  Narcotics. — All  alcoholic  drinks  have  certain 
effects  in  common ;  that  is,  all  affect  the  brain  more  or  less.  A 
single  glass  of  lager  beer  changes  the  current  of  thought  and 
the  tone  of  feeling  in  a  person  not  in  the  habit  of  using  stimu- 
lants. But  alcoholic  drinks  differ  entirely  from  each  other  in 
some  of  their  effects.  Champagne,  beer,  gin,  brandy  are  all 
well  known  to  produce  influences  on  particular  functions,  in 
addition  to  their  action  on  the  brain,  w^hich  again  is  by  no 
means  identical  in  all  these  liquors.  The  experience  of  those 
who  train  for  athletic  sports  has  abundantly  shown  that  alco- 
holic drinks  and  narcotics  form  no  part  of  a  regimen  meant  to 
insure  the  best  physical  condition. 

Coffee,  in  excess,  produces  heat,  headache,  tremors,  wake- 
fulness,  and  a  kind  of  half  insane  disconnection  in  the  association 
of  ideas. 

Tea,  in  excess,  is  liable  to  cause  wakefulness  and  palpita- 
tions. The  heart  tumbles  about  in  a  very  alarming  way 
sometimes,  under  its  influence. 

Tobacco. — A  danger  to  which  smokers  are  exposed  is  injury 
to  the  temper,  through  the  increased  irritability  which  the 
practice  is  apt  to  produce,  and  to  the  will  which  it  is  powerful 
to  subjugate.  This  habit  introduces  into  the  conduct  of  life 
one  of  the  most  imperious  forms  of  self-indulgence  known  to 

experience.      Our  state  prison  convicts  are  said  to  pine  for 
17 


258  GEADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

their  tobacco  more  than  any  other  luxury  of  freedom.  The 
amount  of  duty  unperformed,  or  postponed,  or  slighted,  in 
obedience  to  the  craving  for  the,  narcotic  stimulant,  must  form 
a  large  item  in  the  list  of  the  many  things  left  undone  which 
ought  to  have  been  done.  Carry  the  use  of  the  strange  herb  a 
little  further,  and  the  partial  palsy  of  the  wil}  extends  to  other 
functions.  The  sense  of  vision  is  one  of  the  first  points  where 
the  further  encroachment  of  the  drug  shows  itself.  Many 
cases  of  loss  of  power  in  the  nerve  of  the  eye  are  traced  to  the 
free  use  of  tobacco.  Some  hard  smokers  are  great  workers  as 
we  all  know,  but  few  who  have  watched  the  effects  of  nicoti- 
zation  on  will  land  character  would  deny  that  it  handicaps  a 
man,  and  often  pretty  heavily,  in  the  race  for  distinction. 

Clothing. — We  may  learn  a  lesson  in  the  matter  of  cloth- 
ing from  the  trainers  and  jockeys.  They  blanket  their  horses 
carefully  after  exercise.  We  come  in  heated  and  throw  off  our 
outside  clothing.  Why  should  not  a  man  be  cared  for  as  well 
as  Flora  Temple  or  Dexter? 

Exercise. — It  is  by  no  means  so  easy  to  lay  down  precise 
rules  about  exercise,  as  many  at  first  thought  suppose.  When 
one  is  told  to  walk  two  or  four  hours  daily,  it  seems  as  if  the 
measure  of  time  was  the  measure  of  work  to  be  done.  But 
one  person  weighs  a  hundred  pounds  and  a  little  over,  a  large 
part  of  it  muscle,  which  does  not  feel  its  own  weight;  and 
another  person  weighs  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  three- 
quarters  of  it  inert  matter,  nearly  as  hard  to  carry  as  if  it  were 
packed  in  boxes  and  bundles. 

Two  points  deserve  special  attention  connected  with  exer- 
cise— the  aeration  of  the  blood  and  its  distribution.  Exercise 


SELECTED  HEADINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY.      259 

drives  it  more  rapidly  through  the  lungs  and  quickens  the  breath- 
ing in  proportion.  You  will  see  persons,  not  in  love,  so  far  as 
known,  who  sigh  heavily  from  time  to  time.  It  is  simply  to 
make  up  arrears  of  their  languid  respiration,  which  leaves  the 
blood  over-carbonated  and  under-oxygenated.  A  deep  breath 
sets  it  right  for  the  moment,  as  the  payment  of  a  long  bill 
disposes  of  many  petty  charges  that  have  been  accumulating. 

During  exercise  the  muscles  want  blood,  and  suck  it  up 
like  so  many  sponges.  But  when  the  brain  is  working,  that 
wants  blood,  and  when  the  stomach  is  digesting,  that  wants 
blood,  and  so  of  other  organs. 

The  effects  of  prolonged  training  on  the  after-conditions  of 
the  subject  have  often  been  questioned.  The  recent  death  of 
Chambers,  the  rowing  champion  of  England,  of  consumption, 
has  called  attention  anew  to  the  matter.  Dr.  Hope  has  pointed 
out  the  danger  of  bringing  on  disease  of  the  heart  by  over- 
exertions  in  boat  races  and  Alpine  excursions.  When  a  young 
man  strains  himself  in  a  rowing  match  until  he  grows  black  in 
the  face,  he  is  putting  his  circulating  and  breathing  organs  to 
the  hazard  of  injuries  that  are  liable  to  outlast  the  memory  of 
all  his  brief  triumphs.  "It  is  the  pace  that  kills,"  is  an  axiom 
as  applicable  to  men  as  to  horses. — From  essay  on  "  Care  and 
Management  of  the  Human  Body." 


Our  brains  are  seventy-year  clocks.  The  Angel  of  Life 
winds  them  up  once  for  all,  then  closes  the  case  and  gives  the 
key  into  the  hand  of  the  Angel  of  the  Resurrection. 

Tic-tac!  tic-tac!  go  the  wheels  of  thought;  our  will  cannot 
stop  them;  they  cannot  stop  themselves;  sleep  cannot  still 


260  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

them;  madness  only  makes  them  go  faster;  death  alone 
can  break  into  the  case,  and  seizing  the  ever-swinging  pendu- 
lum which  we  call  the  heart,  sjlence  at  last  the  clicking  of 
the  terrible  escapement  we  have  carried  so  long  beneath  our 
wrinkled  foreheads.  If  we  could  only  get  at  them,  as  we  lie 
on  our  pillows,  and  count  the  dead  beats  <j>f  thought  after 
thought  and  image  after  image  jarring  through  the  overtired 
organ ! 

Unless  the  will  maintain  a  certain  control  over  these  move- 
ments which  it  cannot  stop,  but  can  to  some  extent  regulate, 
men  are  very  apt  to  try  to  get  at  the  machine  by  some  indirect 
system  of  leverage  or  other.  They  clap  on  the  brakes  by 
means  of  opium ;  they  change  the  maddening  monotony  of  the 
rhythm  by  means  of  fermented  liquors.  It  is  because  the  brain 
is  locked  up  and  we  cannot  touch  its  movement  directly  that 
we  thrust  these  coarse  tools  in  through  any  crevice,  by  which 
they  may  reach  the  interior,  and  so  alter  its  rate  of  going  for  a 
while,  and  at  last  spoil  the  machine. 

******* 

I  think  you  will  find  it  true  that,  before  any  vice  can  fasten 
on  a  man,  body,  mind  or  moral  nature  must  be  debilitated. 
The  mosses  and  fungi  gather  on  sickly  trees,  not  thriving  ones ; 
and  the  odious  parasites  which  fasten  on  the  human  frame 
choose  that  which  is  already  enfeebled.  Mr.  Walker,  the 
hygeian  humorist,  declared  that  he  had  such  a  healthy  skin 
it  was  impossible  for  any  impurity  to  stick  to  it,  and  main- 
tained that  it  was  an  absurdity  to  wash  a  face  which  was 
of  necessity  always  clean.  I  don't  know  how  much  fancy 
there  was  in  this ;  but  there  is  no  fancy  in  saying  that  the 


SELECTED  READINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY.      261 

lassitude  of  tired-out  operatives,  and  the  languor  of  imaginative 
natures  in  their  periods  of  collapse,  and  the  vacuity  of  minds 
untrained  to  labor  and  discipline,  fit  the  soul  and  body  for  the 
germination  of  the  seeds  of  intemperance. 

Whenever  the  wandering  demon  of  drunkenness  finds  a 
ship  adrift — no  steady  wind  in  its  sails,  no  thoughtful  pilot 
directing  its  course — he  steps  on  board,  takes  the  helm,  and 
steers  straight  for  the  maelstrom. 

******* 

I  do  not  advise  you,  young  man,  to  consecrate  the  flower  of 
your  life  to  painting  the  bowl  of  a  pipe,  for,  let  me  assure  you, 
the  stain  of  a  reverie-breeding  narcotic  may  strike  deeper  than 
you  think  for.  I  have  seen  the  green  leaf  of  early  promise 
grow  brown  before  its  time  under  such  nicotian  regimen,  and 
thought  the  umbered  meerschaum  was  dearly  bought  at  the 
cost  of  a  brain  enfeebled  and  a  will  enslaved. 

******* 

The  pleasure  of  exercise  is  due  first  to  a  purely  physical 
impression,  and  secondly  to  a  sense  of  power  in  action.  The 
first  source^of  pleasure  varies,  of  course,  with  our  condition  and 
the  state  of  the  surrounding  circumstances;  the  second  with 
the  amount  and  kind  of  power,  and  the  extent  and  kind  of 
action.  In  all  forms  of  active  exercise  there  are  three  powers 
simultaneously  in  action — the  will,  the  muscles,  and  the 
intellect.  Each  of  these  predominates  in  different  kinds  of 
exercise.  In  walking  the  will  and  muscles  are  so  accustomed 
to  work  together  and  perform  their  task  with  so  4ittle  expendi- 
ture of  force,  that  the  intellect  is  left  comparatively  free.  The 
mental  pleasure  in  walking,  as  such,  is  in  the  sense  of  power 


262  GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

over  all  our  moving  machinery.  But  in  riding  I  have  the 
additional  pleasure  of  governing  another's  will,  and  my  muscles 
extend  to  the  tips  of  the  animal's  ears  and  to  his  four  hoofs, 
instead  of  stopping  at  my  hands  and  feet.  Now  in  this 
extension  of  my  volition  and  my  physical  frame  into  another 
animal,  my  tyrannical  instincts  and  my  desire  for  heroic 
strength  are  at  once  gratified.  When  the  horse  ceases  to 
have  a  will  of  his  own,  and  his  muscles  require  no  special 
attention  on  your  part,  then  you  may  live  on  horseback  as 
Wesley  did,  and  write  sermons  or  take  naps,  as  you  like.  But 
you  will  observe  that  in  riding  on  horseback  you  always  have 
a  feeling  that,  after  all,  it  is  not  you  that  do  the  work,  but  the 
animal,  and  this  prevents  the  satisfaction  from  being  complete. 

But  if  your  blood  wants  rousing,  turn  round  that  stake  in 
the  river  which  you  see  a  mile  from  here,  and  when  you  come 
in  in  sixteen  minutes  (if  you  do,  for  we  are  old  boys  and  not 
champion  scullers  you  remember),  then  say  if  you  begin  to  feel 
a  little  warmed  up  or  not !  You  can  row  easily  and  gently  all 
day,  and  you  can  row  yourself  blind  and  black  in  the  face  in  ten 
minutes,  just  as  you  like.  It  has  been  long  agreed,  that  there 
is  no  way  in  which  a  man  can  accomplish  so  much  labor  with 
his  muscles  as  in  rowing. 

We  have  a  few  good  boatmen — no  good  horsemen  that  I 
hear  of — I  cannot  speak  for  cricketing,  but  as  for  any  great 
athletic  feat  performed  by  a  gentleman  in  these  latitudes, 
society  would  drop  a  man  who  should  run  around  the  Common 
in  five  minutes.  Some  of  our  amateur  fencers,  single-stick 
players,  and  boxers,  we  have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of. 
Boxing  is  rough  play,  but  not  too  rough  for  a  hearty,  young 


SELECTED  READINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY.      263 

fellow.  Anything  is  better  than  this  white-blooded  degenera- 
tion to  which  we  all  tend. — From  "  The  Autocrat  of  the 
Breakfast  Talk." 


There  are  three  wicks,  you  know,  to  the  lamp  of  a  man's 
life :  brain,  blood,  and  breath.  Press  the  brain  a  little,  its  light 
goes  out,  followed  by  both  the  others.  Stop  the  heart  a 
minute,  and  out  go  all  three  of  the  wicks.  Choke  the  air  out 
of  the  lungs,  and  presently  the  fluid  ceases  to  supply  the  other 
centers  of  flame,  and  all  is  soon  stagnation,  cold,  and  darkness. 
The  "tripod"  of  life  a  French  physiologist  called  these  three 
organs. — From  "  The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table? 


THE   LIVING  TEMPLE. 

The  smooth,  soft  air,  with  pulse-like  waves, 
Flows  murmuring  through  its  hidden  caves, 
Whose  streams  of  brightening  purple  rush, 
Fired  with  a  new  and  livelier  blush, 
While  all  their  burden  of  decay 
The  ebbing  current  steals  away, 
And  red  with  Nature's  flame  they  start 
From  the  warm  fountains  of  the  heart. 

No  rest  that  throbbing  slave  may  ask, 
Forever  quivering  o'er  his  task, 
While  far  and  wide  a  crimson  jet 
Leaps  forth  to  fill  the  woven  net 
Which  in  unnumbered  crossing  tides 
The  flood  of  burning  life  divides, 
Then,  kindling  each  decaying  part, 
Creeps  back  to  find  the  throbbing  heart. 


GRADED  LESSONS  IN  HYGIENE. 

But  warmed  with  that  unchanging  flame 
Behold  the  outward  moving  frame, 
Its  living  marbles  jointed  strong 
With  glistening  bancTand  silvery  thong, 
And  linked  to  reason's  guiding  reins 
By  myriad  rings  in  trembling  chains, 
Each  graven  with  the  threaded  zone  ». 
Which  claims  it  as  the  master's  own. 

See  how  yon  beam  of  seeming  white 
Is  braided  out  of  seven-hued  light, 
Yet  in  those  lucid  globes  no  ray 
By  any  chance  shall  break  astray. 
Hark  how  the  rolling  surge  of  sound 
Arches  and  spirals  circling  round, 
Wakes  the  hushed  spirit  through  thine  ear 
With  music  it  is  heaven  to  hear. 

Then  mark  the  cloven  sphere  that  holds 
All  thought  in  its  mysterious  folds, 
That  feels  sensation's  faintest  thrill, 
And  flashes  forth  the  sovereign  will ; 
Think  on  the  stormy  world  that  dwells 
Locked  in  its  dim  and  clustering  cells ! 
The  lightning  gleam  of  power  it  sheds 
Along  its  hollow,  glassy  threads  1 


INDEX. 


Abdomen,  128. 
Absorption  of  food,  20. 
Adenoid  growths,  137. 
Adjustable  seats,  91 
Adulteration  of  food,  38-41,  53. 
AID  TO  THE  INJURED,  Chapter  XVII. 
Air,  135. 
cellar,  139. 

composition  of  inhaled  and  exhaled,  136. 
foul,  139. 

in  breathing,  135. 
sacs,  127. 
Alcohol. 

and  physical  training,  60, 
as  a  heat  producer,  58. 
as  a  stimulant,  59. 
does  it  create  energy,  59. 
does  it  build  tissue,  59. 
effect  on,  blood,  216. 
brain,  172-175. 
character,  172. 
eyes,  215. 
hearing,  215. 
heart,  124,  216. 
kidneys,  214. 
liver,  214. 
lungs,  216. 
mind,  210. 
muscles,  106,  215. 
nerves,  172-175,  215, 
skin,  214. 
stomach,  214,, 
will,  213. 
is  it  a  food,  58. 
physical  effects,  60. 
as  a  poison,  60. 
Aneurism,  124. 
Antitoxin  in  diphtheria  202, 
Animal  foods,  30-33. 
Anvil,  188. 
Aqueous  humor,  178. 
Arteries,  110. 
Asphyxia,  140. 
Asthma,  132. 
Auricle,  114. 


Bacteria,  196. 
Baseball.  231-232. 


Bathing,  73. 
Bee  stings,  245. 
Bile,  17. 
Bleeding. 

from  artery*  243. 

from  nose,  243. 

from  veins,  204,  244. 
Blind  spot,  180. 
BLOOD,  Chapter  VIII. 

artificial  and  venous  compared,  113. 

circulation,  109. 

corpuscles,  108. 
BONES,  Chapter  VI. 

arms,  84. 

broken,  92. 
Bones,  composition,  87. 

framework,  80,  81. 

legs,  84. 

shape,  82. 

skull,  83. 

strength,  83. 

trunk,  83. 
BRAIN,  Chapter  X 

a  center,  159. 

description  149. 

divisions,  154. 

education  of  the  whole,  157-159. 


gray  matter,  149. 
healt 


lthy  body  and,  174. 

location  of  functions,  155. 

of  Gauss,  152 

rest,  166. 

size,  152. 

White  matter,  149 
BREATHING,  Chapter  IX. 

restoring,  246-250. 
Bronchial  tubes,  127,  131. 
Burning  clothing,  245. 
Burns,  245. 


Capillaries,  111. 
Carbohydrate  foods,  44. 
Cataract,  178. 
Cartilage,  86. 
Cerebellum,  154. 

work,  159. 
Cerebrum,  154. 

work  of,  155, 156. 


265 


266 


INDEX. 


Character,  172. 
Chest,  84, 128. 

sounds,  132. 
Chloral,  211. 
Choking,  242. 
Choroid  Coat,  175. 
Cleanliness  of  school  rooms,  144. 
Clothing,  75. 
Coal  gas,  139. 
Cocaine,  211. 
Cochlea,  189. 
Coffee,  52. 

adulteration  of,  53. 
Colds,  69. 

danger  from,  79. 
Colon,  16. 

Convolutions  and  intelligence,  152, 153 
Cooking,  37. 
Cornea,  176. 
Corpuscles,  108. 
Croup,  131. 


Defective  hearing,  191. 
Delirium  Tremens,  211. 
Dermis,  G6. 
Diaphragm,  128. 
DIGESTION,  Chapters  I.  and  II. 

cheer  aids,  15. 

in  animals,  22. 

intestinal,  15. 

mouth,  13. 

stomach,  14. 

time  required,  36. 
Diphtheria,  131. 197,  202. 
Dipsomania,  210. 
DISEASE  GERMS,  Chapter  XIV. 

Asiatic  cholera,  197. 

conditions  favoring,  198. 

consumption,  197. 

danger  of,  197. 

erysipelas,  197. 

how  to  destroy,  201. 

how  transmitted,  199. 

in  water,  49. 

pneumonia,  197. 

time  required,  199. 

typhoid  fever,  197. 
Diseases  due  to  alcohol  and  narcotics,  205- 

212. 

Disinfectants,  203. 
Dreams,  170. 
DRINKS,  Chapter  III. 

tea  and  coffee,  52. 

water,  52. 
Dropsy,  122. 
Drowning,  246-249. 
Dullness,  191. 
Dust,  140. 


EAR,  Chapter  XIL 
care,  189-191. 


Ear,  cochlea,  189. 

drum,  187. 

external,  186. 

foreign  bodies  in,  244. 

inner,  189. 

middle,  187. 

parts,  186. 

semi-circular  canals,  189. 

vestibule,  189. 

wax,  186. 
Epidermis,  65. 
Epiglottis,  133. 
EYES,  Chapter  Xf . 

adjustment,  176. 

crossed,  178, 179. 

description,  175, 176. 

foreign  bodies  in,  244. 

lens,  177. 

movements,  178. 

parts,  176, 177. 
Esophagus,  14,  20. 
Eustachian  tube,  188. 
EXERCISS,  Chapter  XVI. 

according  to  development,  228. 

for  girls,  234. 
Exercise,  general  suggestions,  236. 

kinds.  234. 

necessary  for  health,  102,  228. 

physical,  230. 
Exercises  suitable, 

six  to  nine,  229. 

nine  to  fourteen,  230. 

fourteen  to  20,  232. 

twenty  to  thirty,  233. 
Expiration,  129. 

Face  Powder,  75. 
Fainting,  120.  242.. 
Fatigue  poison,  165. 
Far-sightedness,  179. 
FOOD,  Chapters  I.  and  II. 
adulteration,  38-41,  53. 
amount,  10,  25,  27. 
animal,  30-33. 

butter,  31. 

compared  with  vegetables  33. 

cheese,  31. 

eggs,  32. 

meats,  32. 

milk,  30. 
as  fuel,  26. 
cooking,  12,  37. 
definition,  28. 
diseased,  41. 
elements,  43. 
harmful,  42. 
kinds,  23,  24. 
mineral,  28-30. 
of  different  countries,  24. 
selection,  11. 
uses,  10. 
vegetables,  34-36. 

bread,  34. 


INDEX. 


267 


Food,  candy  and  preserves,  36. 

fruits,  35. 

green  foods,  29,  34. 
Football,  235. 

Gall  bladder,  17. 
Gastric  juice,  14. 
Gymnastics  and  games,  233. 

Habit,  170-172. 

Hair.  70. 

Hammer,  188. 

Hand  and  foot  compared,  85, 

Hang-nails,  71. 

Headaches. 

school,  163. 

from  poor  blood  supply,  163. 

from  indigestion,  164. 

from  fatigue  poison,  I65o 

from  ear  disease,  165. 

from  eye  strain,  165. 
Hearing  center,  155, 156. 
Heart,  114. 

course  of  blood  through,  115 

effect  of  alcohol,  124. 

effect  of  mental  action,  119. 
Heart  position,  114. 

beats,  116,119. 
cause,  116. 
in  fever,  119. 
rapidity,  118. 
rests,  117, 118. 

sounds,  120. 

work  and  rest,  117. 
Heat. 

bodily,  25-27.  134. 

lowering,  27. 
Hurnerus,  84. 

Improper  positions,  89, 92. 
Insect  stings,  245. 
Inspiration,  129, 
Intemperance,  54-60. 
Intestinal  juice,  16. 
Intestines. 

large,  16. 

movements,  19. 

small,  16. 
Iris,  176. 

Joints,  86. 

KIDNEYS,  Chapter  V. 
healthy,  78. 
structure,  77. 
work,  77. 

Larynx,  132. 

Lead  and  zinc  poisoning  51.  212. 

Liver,  17. 

Lungs,  125. 

structure,  127. 
Lymph,  122, 123. 
Lymphatics,  121. 


Malaria,  140. 
Marrow,  82, 
Massage,  124. 
Medulla,  159. 
Mineral  foods,  28-30. 
Mineral  waters,  51. 
Morphine,  212, 
Motion,  99, 100. 
Mouth-breathing,  136. 
MUSCLES,  Chapter  VII. 

effect  of  alcohol,  106. 

effect  of  inactivity.  105. 

fastenings,  98. 

how  they  act,  97. 

how  to  strengthen,  100. 

involuntary,  106. 

number  and  shape,  96. 

structure  of,  96, 97. 

voluntary,  106. 

Nails,  71. 

Narcotics,  211,  213,  Chapter  IV. 

Near-sightedness,  179. 

Nerve  fibers,  161. 

Nerve  messages,  148. 

speed,  162. 
NERVES,  Chapter  X. 

description,  148. 

motor,  149. 

sensory,  149. 
Nervous  system,  146-148. 

influence  of  alcohol,  Chapter  IV,,  XV« 
172-174, 

parts,  149. 
Nostrils,  130. 

foreign  bodies  in,  244. 

One  boy's  debt,  138. 
Oil  glands,  69. 
Opium,  212. 
Oxygen,  134, 135. 

Pancreas,  16. 
Pancreatic  juice,  16. 
Partial  starvation,  43-45. 
Periosteum,  87. 
Pharynx,  127. 
Plasma,  108. 
Pleura,  134. 
Pneumonia,  132, 197. 
Poisons,  250. 

Poor  print  and  eyes,  182> 
Pores,  67. 

Prisoner's  base,  231. 
Pulse,  119. 
Pupil  of  eye,  176. 
Pylorus,  14. 

Race-tag,  230. 
Retina,  176. 
Rest,  103, 166-168. 
Round  shoulders,  104. 


268 


INDEX. 


Saliva,  13. 

Salt,  28,  29. 

Sclerotic  coat,  175. 

Seats  and  desks,  90. 

SELECTED  READINGS  FOR  REVIEW  STUDY, 

Chapter  XV11I. 
Sewer  gas,  140. 
SIGHT,  Chapter  XI. 
Skeleton,  81. 
SKIN,  Chapter  V. 

a  fair,  74. 

coloring  matter,  66. 

glands,  66. 

layers,  64. 

pores,  68. 

uses,  72. 
Sleep,  168, 169. 
Soft  Palate,  130. 
SOME  DISEASES  OF  MODERN  LIFE,  Chapter 

XV. 

Spectacles,  179. 
Speech  center,  156. 
Spinal  bulb,  159. 
Spinal  cord,  160. 
Spleen,  123. 
Sprains,  93. 
Stings  of  insects,  245. 
STOMACH,  Chapter  I. 
Suffocation,  242. 
Sunstroke,  245. 
Sweat  glands,  66. 

Tartar,  195. 

Tea,  52. 

Tea,  adulteration  of,  53. 

Tears,  179. 

TEMPERANCE,  Chapter  IV 


TEETH,  Chapter  X1IL 

care.  194,  195. 

kinds,  194. 

structure,  193. 
Tendons,  99. 
Testing  vision,  183*  185. 
Trachea,  127, 130. 
Type, 

proper  size,  182. 

specimens,  183. 
Typhoid  fever,  200. 

Valves, 

of  neart>  115. 

of  veins,  112. 
Vaccination,  203. 
Vegetable  food,  33-36 
Veins,  111. 
Ventilation,  141-143, 
Ventricle,  114. 
Visual  center,  155,  156, 
Vitreous  humor,  177. 
Vocal  cords,  133. 

Waste  Products, 

expulsion,  20. 

where  found,  19. 
Water. 

as  a  beverage,  52. 

disease  germs  in,  43. 

impure,  47. 

pure,  47. 

to  purify,  51. 

uses,  46. 

Wells,  location  of,  48. 
Windpipe,  127, 130. 


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